The BIG question...

[MarionHall4ever]

Last weekend -- prior to the news about Kelvin Sampson at I.U. -- the college basketball writer at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland ran a "notes" column in which he did a little speculating about which Coaches will be moving to which programs. He listed Sean as a possibility to move to Pitt. I dismissed that as speculation immediately and I think that the same should apply to I.U. if a vacancy should arise there.

First of all, I.U. would almost have to pursue a major name (and don't be surprised if Bobby Knight's name gets tossed into the mix).

Second, and more pertinent to us at Muskie Tech, Sean has a good thing going on here at Xavier -- and a nice recruiting class coming in next year. The Administration has to be very happy with him (especially after their dealings with his predecessor -- who shall go unnamed in this post) and will want to do whatever is reasonable to keep the program in his competent hands. Of course, "reasonable" is a very subjective term.

[mhettel]

If you don't think Sean would be near the top of any list at IU, you are smoking something.

I think Mark Few would be the leader, and Sean would be in the top 5.

Similarly, If Sean had a "list" of great jobs he'd have to consider, I'd be certain that IU would be one of them. Along with UCLA, UK, KU, & UNC, this is one of the premier jobs in the country.

I think the IU situation is a big problem. If you don't believe so, then you are just choosing to ignore the obvious.

Our best bet is to have IU get severe sanctions, and make the job unattractive due to post-season bans etc that will impact recruiting.

[coach]

If you don't think Sean would be near the top of any list at IU, you are smoking something.

I think Mark Few would be the leader, and Sean would be in the top 5.

Similarly, If Sean had a "list" of great jobs he'd have to consider, I'd be certain that IU would be one of them. Along with UCLA, UK, KU, & UNC, this is one of the premier jobs in the country.

I think the IU situation is a big problem. If you don't believe so, then you are just choosing to ignore the obvious.

Our best bet is to have IU get severe sanctions, and make the job unattractive due to post-season bans etc that will impact recruiting.

Miller was mentioned yesterday on a radio show in Indy as a very attractive replacement for Sampson. But I'm not sure Miller would consider it a dream job. 1. They will probably be on probation. 2. You have almost as many dumba$$ ignorant fans as Kentucky, most of whom still think the program will never be the same until Knight returns. 3. You have to live in Bloomington, which is pretty much a Communist country. 4. Believe it or not, IU's facilities are crap, compared to XU. 5 For some people, money isn't everything.

[LA Muskie]

1. They will probably be on probation.

This is rarely a problem for coaches (as opposed to players) because they pretty much get an early free ride to install their system without significant expectations. See, e.g., Thad Matta at OSU.

2. You have almost as many dumba$$ ignorant fans as Kentucky, most of whom still think the program will never be the same until Knight returns.

Every school has its dumbass fans. Just read a few posts on this board after a loss. Hell, people were calling for him to be fired, even on this board, two years ago.

3. You have to live in Bloomington, which is pretty much a Communist country.

I don't know what to say about this, other than it's not worth a response.

4. Believe it or not, IU's facilities are crap, compared to XU.

Facilities matter only to the extent that it affects recruiting. Xavier needs amazing facilities to counteract its conference and its lower stature. IU, needless to say, doesn't have any issues in either of those regards.

5 For some people, money isn't everything.

I would venture a guess that money will have absolutely NOTHING to do with Coach's decision to leave, whenever he decides to do so and wherever he goes. XU pays him well now and he will get a raise after this season. He may make more elsewhere, but that won't be why he leaves. It will likely be for the same reasons that Gillen, Prosser, and Matta left -- to go to more prestigious conferences with the ability to get more 4 and 5-star recruits and, therefore, compete for a national championship on a regular basis.

Look, I think we have a great program and a real chance at a Final Four and perhaps even a national championship this year -- as good as I've felt since D. West was here. But we have to know what we are and what we are not. We are a great, nationally-recognized program. We are NOT an upper echelon program, and for various reasons likely never will be. I'm not talking about the major/mid-major dichotomy here. I'm talking about the approximately 10 teams that constitute the upper crust of D-1 basketball on a regular basis: Duke, UNC, Indiana, Kentucky, Connecticut, Syracuse, Georgetown, UCLA, Arizona, and Kansas. They are in a class of their own. If you don't think that ANY coach would at least consider jumping to any of those schools, no matter how happy and comfortable they might be in their current digs, then you are just not being realistic. I, for one, would consider them if I was Coach.