Will This Mean

[Wisexuowl]

This ESPN Most Prestigious List that will have us in the Top Twenty for the last 23 years mean that at long last our basketball program has passed Dayton?

For real?

[Mr. Neutral]

Not if you factor in the '50s, '60s and '70s, as UD fans would have the poll do.

(Of course, to be fair, X guys used to trot out our 1957 NIT title, which I absolutely, positively guarantee NOBODY cared about except us at this point in time.)

[10-20-30]

of course, yes yes yes, a great history is just that...history...UD is much closer to, let's say, SLU, in terms of recent sucesss than the mighty Muskies.
I'm 27 and couldn't care less about UD in the 50-70's, 90-2000s; there is NO comparison. To that end, I assume this thread is more of a mockery of the question/idea.

[Wisexuowl]

<I assume this thread is more of a mockery of the question/idea.>

Of course.

But leave it to "Neutral(?)" to come flying to the defense of UD and take a shot at his alma mater. Gary, the NIT victory is part of our tradition, and history, and contray to his opinion, people do care. Just like the people at Loyola care about their national title, and UC care about theirs, and Villanova care about theirs ... even though they were 20, 30, 40 years ago.

[Mr. Neutral]

<<But leave it to "Neutral(?)" to come flying to the defense of UD and take a shot at his alma mater. Gary, the NIT victory is part of our tradition, and history, and contray to his opinion, people do care. Just like the people at Loyola care about their national title, and UC care about theirs, and Villanova care about theirs ... even though they were 20, 30, 40 years ago>>

And leave it to Wise to have his usual knee-***** overreaction to one of my posts.

(1) I wasn't coming to "the defense of UD". I was agreeing that their relying on past history has less and less relevance with each passing year.

(2) Yes, I admit that I was acknowledging reality in saying that, while WE care about our NIT title, and Loyola fans care about their '63 title, and UC fans care about their titles before that, NOBODY ELSE does, and certainly not today's recruits.

Can you imagine a recruit trying to stifle the laughter if Miller tried to sell him on X by using our NIT title from 51 years ago?

(3) As always, you missed the detail of my post ackowledging that while WE may care about an NIT title from 50+ years ago, non-Xavier people do not. I've never had a single non-Xavier person come up to me and say "hey, didn't you guys win the NIT in 1957? Wow, that's great! That makes your school a big deal nationally!".

For that matter, while we older Chicago college b-ball fans remember Loyola's title team, nobody with an IQ over 14 points to it as proof that the program is a national "player" now, or has been for decades.

[10-20-30]

the past is the past, and no one cares. I had freinds, my age that would say things about the big O and UC as a response to their annual cross town letdowns. Give it a break; plenty weren't even alive. this is college basketball, not baseball, the past is trivial, 1957, 63? not quite 1961 or 57.
Pretty sure University of Chicago won a few big ten football championships, think they are still holding on?...I hope they held onto the kazoo marching band...
Long Island won a couple of NITs, does that mean they have a better history?
holy cross, dayton, bradley twice, SIU, San Francisco and my favorite City College of The City University of New York,

ahh the rich history of the NIT

[wkrq59]

I don't know who said it but "The past is a prelude to the future," and as an older fart, I can say that the past is still part of the tradition and lore of Xavier basketball and deserves not to be just dumped on.
Yeah, today's young can't relate to the past, but they will become part of the tradition if they come to Xavier and I contend that's pretty damned important.
Being ranked No. 17 is a helluva achievement and a feather in the cap of Sean Miller and Mike B and Frs. Hoff and Graham. But especially Sean, who took so much heat during and following his first season as head coach.
And I'm of the opinion still that the best is yet to come. No, wait, that was the theme song of the original play "The Birdcage," (I can't spell the French title) and might not be acceptable to all.

[Mr. Neutral]

Q, I, for one, am not "dumping on the past", having seen firsthand a lot of non-glory years before X started coming into its own under Staak.

But if we thought it was silly that UC fans would point to their titles in the early '60s as evidence of why their program was better than X in the '90s or '00s, then it's equally silly for us to use an NIT title from 51 years ago as evidence of the strength of our program.

The strength of our program started with Staak, and continues to this day. The '57 NIT team, the Bob Quick years, etc., mean zip in terms of how solid the program is today, nor were they building blocks for where the program is today.

[Wisexuowl]

<"The past is a prelude to the future.">

Q ... that is way, way over Gary's head!

I'm 74, and while Gary wouldn't believe it, I had a fellow ask me today at the Mall if I went to Xavier as I was wearing an XU golf *****, and when I said yes, he said: "I'm from New York, and I remember when you guys won the NIT."

Gee, guess the past is revelent.

[muskienick]

And just to clarify...

The Muskies won the 1958 NIT Championship (not 1957's Tourney).