Meanwhile over in the Atlantic 10

The SLU doomsayers look like they may have been right. They are 1-7 in conference right now with only 0-8 Fordham behind them.

Not exactly shocking. Crews is a poor recruiter. Not much left after last year. Attendance is down around 17%. Unfortunately with Rick gone, SLU has to start all over.

Easy to say this now, although many people thought at the time that Crews was not the right choice for the permanent gig.

I'm probably way higher on him than most people, but if things don't improve next year they should bring Drew Diener back to campus to take over.

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Originally Posted by MUBasketball

Easy to say this now, although many people thought at the time that Crews was not the right choice for the permanent gig.

I'm probably way higher on him than most people, but if things don't improve next year they should bring Drew Diener back to campus to take over.

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He's probably a step away from that level. For instance, if Jeter is out after this year, UWM would be a good logical step.

I think SLU should take a hard look at Wardle in the offseason, and that would be a nice gig for Wardle to take as a transition to the high-major level (and yes, I think the A-10 is a mid-major under the current structure).

A-10 is a weird league, as half the league is a mid-major and other are high majors.

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Originally Posted by warriorfan4life

I think SLU should take a hard look at Wardle in the offseason, and that would be a nice gig for Wardle to take as a transition to the high-major level (and yes, I think the A-10 is a mid-major under the current structure).

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I may be wrong, but with Wojo getting the MU job instead of him, I would be shocked if he didn't have his sights set on DePaul.

Oliver Purnell isn't getting fired. They are having the best season they have had in years.

If I was Wardle, I would try to find an A-10/American level gig, and then go to a high-major opening. He would be a strong choice for DePaul, but not sure if going to DePaul is the right move for him. I can understand being disappointed in not getting the Marquette job, but really feel like he would be a good candidate next time it is open.

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Originally Posted by Gato78

Oliver Purnell isn't getting fired. They are having the best season they have had in years.

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I wasn't suggesting that Purnell was getting fired this year, but I do wonder if he will be retained after his contract is up?

Why is Wardle going anywhere. Green Bay will crab their pants like they always do in March.

Was Wardle a serious candidate for the Marquette job? I thought he was given pretty much a courtesy interview. I think he is a fine young coach and he is on his way up, but I do not see him as being ready to take on a program at this level this early in his career. As for DePaul, I think it depends. Brian has a pretty nice situation at GB. He has what he needs to compete in the league, and last year he had the best team. He might have a shot at bigger jobs in the near future, especially if he can get his team into the tournament and win a game or two. DePaul has been the graveyard of coaches for a long time. I can see the appeal of returning to Chicago and stepping up, but I am not sure it is a good position.

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Originally Posted by unclejohn

Was Wardle a serious candidate for the Marquette job? I thought he was given pretty much a courtesy interview. I think he is a fine young coach and he is on his way up, but I do not see him as being ready to take on a program at this level this early in his career. As for DePaul, I think it depends. Brian has a pretty nice situation at GB. He has what he needs to compete in the league, and last year he had the best team. He might have a shot at bigger jobs in the near future, especially if he can get his team into the tournament and win a game or two. DePaul has been the graveyard of coaches for a long time. I can see the appeal of returning to Chicago and stepping up, but I am not sure it is a good position.

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Yeah, I think he needs to string together a couple good years - and he loses his top two scorers after this year.

I think making at least 1 NCAA tournament would be a good start for Brian....

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Originally Posted by Markedman

I think making at least 1 NCAA tournament would be a good start for Brian....

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Yes, would think that would be a "requisite" for a Mid-Major coach to move up. I'm sure there are some that have moved up to a "high major" w/o that, but those are probably the exceptions.

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Originally Posted by Nukem2

Yes, would think that would be a "requisite" for a Mid-Major coach to move up. I'm sure there are some that have moved up to a "high major" w/o that, but those are probably the exceptions.

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One of the exceptions was Bo Ryan.
Coached at UWM for two years and barely had a winning record in his two seasons.
Of course he had a long history of winning at the D3 level.

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Originally Posted by Markedman

I think making at least 1 NCAA tournament would be a good start for Brian....

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This is why I think Brian should take an intermediary job in a league outside the top six, but where you can realistically earn an at-large bid. Green Bay should put together back-to-back strong records, but they are playing in a one-bid league. This season, they have an equal in Valaparaiso that they will have to topple to make the NCAA's.

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Originally Posted by MU/Panther

Why is Wardle going anywhere. Green Bay will crab their pants like they always do in March.

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If I recall correctly, Green Bay did not play with Keifer Sykes in the CBI and he played with a serious injury against Milwaukee last season in the Horizon Tournament. Pretty devastating to lose your best player in March.

He got hurt versus Milwaukee, but returned. It was in the NIT they lost to Belmont. Todd Kowalczyk had a solid team as a 2 seed and got bounce right away just like last year. Last time Green Bay was in the tournament was 1996 and I think they haven't played in a title game since the late 90's.

Both Alec Brown and Kiefer Sykes were injured for Horizon League Tournament.

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Originally Posted by Gato78

Both Alec Brown and Kiefer Sykes were injured for Horizon League Tournament.

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That's my recollection. That was a huge break for UWM.

UWM smoked Green Bay at Green Bay in the regular season with Sykes and Brown. Injurys are part of the game, everyone has pains playing in March. It's a long year now in the world of college basketball with 31 regular season games.

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Originally Posted by MU/Panther

UWM smoked Green Bay at Green Bay in the regular season with Sykes and Brown. Injurys are part of the game.

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Irrelevant. The discussion is about the tourney game. Also, I believe Bown was hurt for the other game as well...?

Is this the part where we pretend UWM was a better team than UW-Green Bay last season?

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Originally Posted by Nukem2

Irrelevant. The discussion is about the tourney game. Also, I believe Bown was hurt for the other game as well...?

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Why is irrelevant, cause you said so. Please.

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Originally Posted by MUAlphaBangura

Is this the part where we pretend UWM was a better team than UW-Green Bay last season?

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They did beat them 2 of 3 last year and got the biggest prize, the auto bid to the dance in a win at Wright State. That's like saying UCONN wasn't the best last year. Why play the games then.

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Originally Posted by MU/Panther

They did beat them 2 of 3 last year and got the biggest prize, the auto bid to the dance in a win at Wright State. That's like saying UCONN wasn't the best last year. Why play the games then.

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Hey, this is an MU board. Don't expect a lot of Panther love here. At least GB has Wardle. :)

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Originally Posted by MU/Panther

They did beat them 2 of 3 last year and got the biggest prize, the auto bid to the dance in a win at Wright State. That's like saying UCONN wasn't the best last year. Why play the games then.

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No way in hell was UConn the best team last year (finished 8th in final Pomeroy rankings and 6th in final Sagarin ratings). They won six straight games in a single elimination tournament. In their own league, Louisville beat them three times by double figures. Hell, the 2011 UConn national champions were also not the best team (went 9-9 in conference play).

True, but none of that matters because they won the title.

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Originally Posted by warriorfan4life

No way in hell was UConn the best team last year (finished 8th in final Pomeroy rankings and 6th in final Sagarin ratings). They won six straight games in a single elimination tournament.

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From a competitive perspective, the regular season in American sports exists solely to determine the qualification and seeding for a tournament. So saying that Team A, who has a great regular season but flops in the tournament, is better than Team B, who barely gets into the tournament but wins it all, is largely nonsensical because it is completely irrelevant. The 2011 Green Bay Packers may have had a better regular season than the 2010 Packers, but it is hard to claim that the former overall was "better" since the latter won the Super Bowl.

This isn't European soccer where the "champion" is determined by regular season performance.

Dayton still looks solid. While I'd rather not add, they'd be at the top of my list. Good coach, great crowds, and a philosophical match

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Originally Posted by Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"

Dayton still looks solid. While I'd rather not add, they'd be at the top of my list. Good coach, great crowds, and a philosophical match

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And Dayton has been consistently successful over the past number of years with Purnell, Gregory, and now Miller.

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Originally Posted by MUBasketball

And Dayton has been consistently successful over the past number of years with Purnell, Gregory, and now Miller.

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Yup. I get the perception some have of them. Not a huge school, not a ton of NCAA success, but they've been consistently competitive with numerous coaches. Their fans get out in support and they do put enough money into the program to keep it competitive. At this point, aside from market size, I'd say they'd be more of an asset than DePaul. I do also like that they host the First Four. Maybe not a huge deal, but it annually would get some additional, if modest, attention for the league.

At this point I really like the 10 team round robin schedule.
Sure playing everyone twice can be a disadvantage where an unbalanced schedule can be an advantage (like Wisconsin only playing Maryland, Ohio State, Mich State, etc once, while getting teams Northwestern, Minn, Neb, Penn State twice).

Any new addition would need to result in Fox Sports upping the total tv ante for the conference. Would adding Dayton bring in an extra million to each Big East school? Would Dayton help solidify the perception of the Big East as a major, and not mid-major conference? Not picking on Dayton, add any school.

No need to add unless the new school brings each existing school more revenue, brings the conference more prestige, or brings something else to the table that benefits the conference, like lacrosse and baseball teams that helps the overall athletic makeup of the conference.

Depending on the direction the Big East wants to take, I'm not sure there are many non football playing schools out there I'd be interested in right now.

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Originally Posted by Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"

Yup. I get the perception some have of them. Not a huge school, not a ton of NCAA success, but they've been consistently competitive with numerous coaches. Their fans get out in support and they do put enough money into the program to keep it competitive. At this point, aside from market size, I'd say they'd be more of an asset than DePaul. I do also like that they host the First Four. Maybe not a huge deal, but it annually would get some additional, if modest, attention for the league.

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The TV rating market is huge in Dayton for college football and college basketball. Many times I get listing of the top 10 markets for an event and I see Dayton listed many times.

I'm fine at 10 schools, still. ;)

We're all in favor of staying at 10 schools, right?

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Originally Posted by MUBasketball

We're all in favor of staying at 10 schools, right?

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For now. If it helps the perception of the conference to add a couple more down the line than I would be fine with that. For instance, if Gonzaga was located in Denver or Birmingham instead of Spokane, I would have no trouble inviting them in.

Perceived conference quality is more important than a round-robin schedule IMO.

I'd rather stay at 10 than add for the sake of it. I wouldn't be opposed to additions as long as they were sensible.

I would rather add teams, but that's just a personal preference. I'd rather see different styles of play. I like breaking down the games according to the X's and O's and I would rather watch a variety of teams. As always, my criteria to add is:
1) Cool or famous arena
2) Support from the administration
3) Support from the fans

In my opinion, that along with the Big East is the recipe for teams becoming consistent high major teams. I've always said that Dayton and Wichita St fit these criteria the best and I'll stick, with those teams.

BTW, the NCAA just Dayton one of the Top Five most passionate fans.

http://www.ncaa.com/video/basketball...asketball-fans

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Originally Posted by Mucrisco

I would rather add teams, but that's just a personal preference. I'd rather see different styles of play. I like breaking down the games according to the X's and O's and I would rather watch a variety of teams. As always, my criteria to add is:
1) Cool or famous arena
2) Support from the administration
3) Support from the fans

In my opinion, that along with the Big East is the recipe for teams becoming consistent high major teams. I've always said that Dayton and Wichita St fit these criteria the best and I'll stick, with those teams.

BTW, the NCAA just Dayton one of the Top Five most passionate fans.

http://www.ncaa.com/video/basketball...asketball-fans

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I would agree. Wichita St. In particular. Otherwise, VCU or Dayton would be nice. Give the league more critical mass. Round-robin schedules are nice, but I'm not hung up on that.