A10 frosh

[N67ER]

I am puzzled. I keep reading, on this board, the terms "A-10" recruit or "Big East" recruit. What the hell does that mean? Every ball player playing for an A-10 is, by definition, an "A-10" recruit - right? And every player playing for a Big East team is, by definition, a "Big East" recruit. So what, pray tell, is the significance of constantly pointing out the obvious?

Every school presumably recruits and signs the best players available. No recruit carries a label that says "Big East" or "A-10" - so how the hell do you tell the difference? Villanova had a very good team, but had only modest size. St. John's was long and tall. Creighton had great shooters, but not a lot of inside strength. Big East teams don't all play the same styles and, therefore, I would assume that the coaches look for different types of players to match the style they want to play. Same goes for the A-10. Is that not a reasonable assumption?

To the Dayton point - Archie's boys are hot and playing very good basketball right now. Good for them - and I cheered for them tonight. But as others have pointed out, their season performance was so-so. I suspect that if we had played them twice, we would have lost in Dayton and won at Cintas. That's not a guarantee, but would be a reasonable guess based on history.

From my point of view, the move to the new Big East was step up - not because the players are much different in the Big East, but because it has given, and will continue to give Xavier better national exposure,better TV coverage, better access to big markets, a tournament and sometimes a league game at Madison Square Garden - and more revenue. Bravo for the A-10 this year - but I would never look back on the move - even if Dayton wins the National Championship!

[muskieman]

if there were no difference in players between conferences then what makes the ACC or the BiG Ten different than other conferences like the SWAC or Sun Belt? Does The ability of conference to attract McDs or top 26 talent means nothing and if it doesn't why do top tier players will say many times that their decision was made because they wanted to play in the BE, B10, ACC etc,

Success in the tourney doesn't mean that the higher ranked teams have all the talent and the other schools have none but it relies on luck, getting hot and desire but in the end talent will win out over 6 games. X has shown they have good teams, balanced teams or teams with a big star but it still meant that they lost to a Kansas team with more talent in Danny manning and crew, Michigan with Glenn Robinson and crew.

As for the nova comparison they had better talent than most teams in the nation this year and while many people said they were not that "big" they did have a guy 6'11" Daniel Ochefu who was still bigger than the 6'10" Matt Stainbrook and their points were still bigger than X's.

[N67ER]

if there were no difference in players between conferences then what makes the ACC or the BiG Ten different than other conferences like the SWAC or Sun Belt? Does The ability of conference to attract McDs or top 26 talent means nothing and if it doesn't why do top tier players will say many times that their decision was made because they wanted to play in the BE, B10, ACC etc,

Success in the tourney doesn't mean that the higher ranked teams have all the talent and the other schools have none but it relies on luck, getting hot and desire but in the end talent will win out over 6 games. X has shown they have good teams, balanced teams or teams with a big star but it still meant that they lost to a Kansas team with more talent in Danny manning and crew, Michigan with Glenn Robinson and crew.

As for the nova comparison they had better talent than most teams in the nation this year and while many people said they were not that "big" they did have a guy 6'11" Daniel Ochefu who was still bigger than the 6'10" Matt Stainbrook and their points were still bigger than X's.

if there were no difference in players between conferences then what makes the ACC or the BiG Ten different than other conferences like the SWAC or Sun Belt? Does The ability of conference to attract McDs or top 26 talent means nothing and if it doesn't why do top tier players will say many times that their decision was made because they wanted to play in the BE, B10, ACC etc,

Success in the tourney doesn't mean that the higher ranked teams have all the talent and the other schools have none but it relies on luck, getting hot and desire but in the end talent will win out over 6 games. X has shown they have good teams, balanced teams or teams with a big star but it still meant that they lost to a Kansas team with more talent in Danny manning and crew, Michigan with Glenn Robinson and crew.

As for the nova comparison they had better talent than most teams in the nation this year and while many people said they were not that "big" they did have a guy 6'11" Daniel Ochefu who was still bigger than the 6'10" Matt Stainbrook and their points were still bigger than X's.

OK - I am not arguing that all players are equal. But how the hell do you tell the difference between an A-10 recruit and a Big East recruit? And what's the point? Some A-10 players and Big East players could play for any program in the country - though most could not. And some players recruited for the "big" programs would have a tough time getting much playing time for some of the A-10 and Big East teams - though most would not.

My point was that if Xavier recruits and signs a kid he is, by definition, a Big East recruit. Period.

[kyzrex]

Match-ups.........advancement in the tourney is maybe not ALL about match-ups, but it does play a BIG part. Before anyone anoints UD as the greatest freshman class ever.....they did go 10-6 in the A-10 and 26-10 overall, and didn't they lose in the quarterfinals of the A-10 tourney?


I really hope that UD doesn't win any more games though....the Dayton police need the break

[Biggernlife]

Stanford defense looks eerily similar to one I saw play a bunch in the Cintas Center this year! Wonder why and how Dayton's "D" looked so good! And their offense looked great. Guess they must have three times the talent that we do. Biggernlife

[xuhuh!]

ud just got hot for 3 games, playing carefree but carefully..and playing smart under AMiller's tutelage. good for them. It happens every Spring.

[muskieman]

OK - I am not arguing that all players are equal. But how the hell do you tell the difference between an A-10 recruit and a Big East recruit? And what's the point? Some A-10 players and Big East players could play for any program in the country - though most could not. And some players recruited for the "big" programs would have a tough time getting much playing time for some of the A-10 and Big East teams - though most would not.

My point was that if Xavier recruits and signs a kid he is, by definition, a Big East recruit. Period.

So until X is in the BE for at least 4 years not all players might not be BE quality players because while X was in the A-10 they recruited players at least to that level. watching X this year you are correct some players are not equal but that should change a bit in the next few years...if we want to compete.

[N67ER]

[because while X was in the A-10 they recruited players at least to that level.

This is where I disagree with you. Xavier (and every school) recruits the best players it can, not to some mythical level. On the flipside, because it was in the A-10, it was it was less likely that high-level players would be interested. That is what being in the Big East should change. It is kinda an issue of cause and effect.

[D West]

Good thing we got out of the A10 when we did. Jimmy Carter remains in tact.

Dayton looks much better than XU. What happened to the X team that blew by Iowa til SC got cramps and blew by UC? What happened to the team that was so fun to watch and seemed to be having a good time together?
Dayton looks like that team we were on occasion early in season, and even better. They hustle, win every loose ball, pound the offensive glass (at least tonight). Would like to see that motivation here.

Future looks good for UD also, without the heralded recruiting class.

Things change. Dayton fans were ready to ship Archie out of town in late January after the St. Joe home loss. They are hot now when it's needed. 1st time in 30 years. Congrats to the Flyers. They've earned it.