Butler and Xavier Status

[bbaker06]

Just how many games have you taken in at udump?

I'd rather see Dayton than Creighton for a couple selfish reasons:

#1 I like playing them twice a year and beating them
#2 I can go to a road game in Dayton while i'm not driving to Omaha, ever.
#3 I think their recent run is as comparable as Creightons

I went to all of the games at the dump the year we went on the run. I was one of those students jumping up and down on the UD logo.

[Shadow]

and like many 43 yr olds, aging begins to take it's toll.

Ouch!
I have the 39th anniversary of my 39th birthday in less than 2 months.

[MOSQUETERO]

Just how many games have you taken in at udump?

I'd rather see Dayton than Creighton for a couple selfish reasons:

#1 I like playing them twice a year and beating them
#2 I can go to a road game in Dayton while i'm not driving to Omaha, ever.
#3 I think their recent run is as comparable as Creightons

I went to all of the games at the dump the year we went on the run. I was one of those students jumping up and down on the UD logo.

Were you the dude running on the court with sign reading 27-1 after we waxed St. Joes? For once UD was rooting for us for they wanted us in the finals. I went to all four games as well and the reception at the Mandalay after the game.

[madness31]

Excluding VCU is a big mistake. They are on the rise. If the coach leaves it might be a different story but he seems to want to build something at VCU. Their style of play is difficult for any team to deal with, which means they will get plenty of quality wins each and every year until the coach bolts. That may be the reason they are not invited to the new conference as the teams probably don't want to play them.

Not a fan of 10 teams, especially with half the original teams being mediocre at best. This is essentially a lateral move. There is an upgrade to the bottom so it is a slight improvement but I'd rather push my weight around with A-10 leadership and force them to improve the conference. They have to realize the conference is in trouble so X and company should be able to get whatever they want.

[xu39]

I went to all 4 games at UD that year too, I also went to the Mandalay Banquet Center after X won the 4th and final game. That was Matta's last year, and that was when he talked at the Mandalay about the fan that had told him earlier that year something like "we don't like your kind around here" after X got off to a rough start that year.

I don't think VCU is being considered due to proximity to D.C.(Georgetown), otherwise, I think they would probably be in.

I'm wondering if Creighton is being seriously considered, or if the distance to Nebraska is just too far.

[finalfourorbust]

Was at UD arena for two seperate X-UD games and didnt have a single problem. Sure you'll get pestered a little, but isnt that expected ?

Its a great venue for college basketball....period.

It's been a great arena for Dayton but it is also 43 years old...and like many 43 yr olds, aging begins to take it's toll.

I actually enjoyed the Xavier games at the Gardens more than I do at the Cintas Center. I love the old time arenas. The Cintas Center is a much too sterile environment for me.

[xu39]

Nice piece by Joe Lunardi arguing for 12 or 14 in the new league. A poster on the St. Joe's board posted the entire ESPN Insider piece.

Disclosure: Lunardi graduated from and works for St. Joe's, so he is probably biased in favor of a 12 or 14 team league. A 12 or 14 team league would increase SJU's chances of being included.

I copied part of the post:

http://hawkhoopclub.proboards.com/index ... read=10928

So here's the thing. The new "Catholic Seven" basketball alliance? It's not very good. At least not yet.

And you don't have to take my word for it. It's all in the numbers. In this case, a 12-year study of the schools involved using the only criteria that really matter in college basketball: NCAA tournament revenue units.

Why 12 years? That's two full NCAA revenue distribution cycles of six years apiece. In other words, more than enough time for even the most downtrodden programs to put their best foot forward.

To quantify success (or lack of same) on and off the court, we first ranked the departing Big East basketball schools via a League Partner Index (LPI). We think the formula is both basic and informative. It's 80 percent revenue-based (e.g., schools ranked by NCAA units earned) and 20 percent performance-based (a rolling average of RPI and nonconference schedule strength). We must include the latter, of course, as the ability to first reach and then be seeded in the NCAA tournament is based to a substantial degree on the quality of any team's conference partners.

[mumuskie87]

Nice piece by Joe Lunardi arguing for 12 or 14 in the new league. A poster on the St. Joe's board posted the entire ESPN Insider piece

Great piece...I get Lunardi's connection to SJU but he lays out a decent argument for inclusion of more A10 schools.
Bottom line is that 4 of the BE7 - SH, St. Johns, Depaul and Providence - have not been very good over the past 10 years or so. They are dogs...just with less fleas that the A10 dogs - Fordham, LaSalle, Duquense, URI..
Xavier and Butler are in the driver's seat. I think Creighton makes more sense every day...maybe more than SLU. The other question is Richmond vs. VCU. VCU doesn't fit the "private school" model but has a better program than Richmond at this point in time - based on recent NCAA tournament performance.

[somebody]

The a10 people r meeting this week so the ball needs to roll asap...no time to fool around...git r done...

From what I have read the A10 meeting is tomorrow (Thursday).

With that in mind, the presidents of the Atlantic 10 Conference have scheduled a meeting for Thursday with the intent of trying to solidify commitments from their membership.

http://communityvoices.sites.post-gazet ... -raid-a-10

I heard about no press conference today and there was no mention of anything during the game broadcast.

Anything further to report?

[FriarFan]

Great piece...I get Lunardi's connection to SJU but he lays out a decent argument for inclusion of more A10 schools.
Bottom line is that 4 of the BE7 - SH, St. Johns, Depaul and Providence - have not been very good over the past 10 years or so. They are dogs...just with less fleas that the A10 dogs - Fordham, LaSalle, Duquense, URI..
Xavier and Butler are in the driver's seat. I think Creighton makes more sense every day...maybe more than SLU. The other question is Richmond vs. VCU. VCU doesn't fit the "private school" model but has a better program than Richmond at this point in time - based on recent NCAA tournament performance.

Hello Xavier fans (sorry about the loss last night). I hope you guys get an invite to the New Big East soon (and accept). It's been interesting to see other programs perceptions since this started breaking. People think because a program has been down (and PC hasn't been to NCAAs since 2004) it dictates future performance...even if there's been a coaching change (the most important part of any program). The Friars held onto one coach too long (Tim Welsh) and made an awful hire in Keno Davis and are now rebuilding. Xavier fans haven't experienced the impact a poor hire can have on a program recently (amazingly you guys just keep going). Ed Cooley is in his 2nd year and making major strides. A quick snap shot of where PC stands TODAY:

- They play in a 13,000 seat stadium that went through an 80 million renovation a couple of years ago...it's essentially a new facility. When full a solid college bball arena.

- Opened a 15 million dollar weight training and sports medicine facility a couple of years ago and are currently starting plans on building a multi million dollar basketball practice facility.

- PC's team for next year will have Bryce Cotton (currently leading the BE in scoring), Kadeem Batts (productive inside player currently averaging 17 and 8), and LaDontae Henton (All BE freshman last year and very solid).

- Freshman McDonald's All American point guard Kris Dunn just played his first game for the Friars (injury) and should be ready to go next year. Promising sophomore center Sidiki Johnson (Arizona) also just became eligible and played his first game.

- The best talent in the program is currently not playing. Ricky Ledo (considered a top 10 talent in HS by some sources) is on the team as a partial qualifier and if all goes well with his studies will be playing next year.

- Transfers Carson Derossiers (7 footer from Wake Forrest) and Tyler Harris (6'9" swing player from NC State) will be eligible. While neither put up big stats at their first school both are seen as very solid parts to the puzzle.

- Oh yeah, their top recruit for next year is arguably the top player in Philly and another top 50 guy nationally (picked PC over UCONN and Texas)...6'6" combo guard Brandon Austin.

While they will have a lot of unknowns with first year players, talent wise they will get many mentions for top 25 preseason. It will be Cooley's challenge to mesh the talent together.

So how does that compare to the "dogs" of the A-10???

Purnell at DePaul and Willard at Seton Hall are also making strides. While it's not going to be the old Big East I think Xavier's fans are going to see a much higher level of competition overall as compared to the A-10 over the years.

Anyway, best of luck to the Musketeers.