DeCourcy on BE- Calls out MU

[Lennys Tap]

Buzz has always said he'll stay as long as MU wants him, but it's a two way street. If the Big East dumps MU, it relegates us to mid major status. Losing the Big East makes Gonzaga and Xavier our ceiling. That's not what he signed up for and I wouldn't blame him if he felt unwanted under those circumstances.

[GGGG]

So how soon before the NCAA wises up and kick the BCS to the curb?

Never.

The NCAA is at the whim of its member institutions...especially the larger ones.  They will not be able to touch the football profits because the BCS schools won't let them.  If they try doing so, those schools can simply leave and do their own thing not only in football, but in each of the other sports that the NCAA relies on them for.

[GGGG]

Buzz has always said he'll stay as long as MU wants him, but it's a two way street. If the Big East dumps MU, it relegates us to mid major status. Losing the Big East makes Gonzaga and Xavier our ceiling. That's not what he signed up for and I wouldn't blame him if he felt unwanted under those circumstances.

Uh...was he in high demand when he "signed up" at MU? 

[Pakuni]

Losing the Big East makes Gonzaga and Xavier our ceiling. That's not what he signed up for and I wouldn't blame him if he felt unwanted under those circumstances.

That's a helluva ceiling. I'm not sure many here would be unhappy with Xavier-like success.

[79Warrior]

Buzz has always said he'll stay as long as MU wants him, but it's a two way street. If the Big East dumps MU, it relegates us to mid major status. Losing the Big East makes Gonzaga and Xavier our ceiling. That's not what he signed up for and I wouldn't blame him if he felt unwanted under those circumstances.

How have we compared the last 10 years vs. Gonzaga or X???? Seems to me both the Zags and X have had more success than MU.

[HoopsMalone]

Without Wade, X and Gonzaga are clearly ahead of MU for the decade.  I would take the highs of having Wade and the Final Four rather than more consistent March winning for the other two programs, but thats a toss up.

MU has the Al legacy which trumps them. 

We better appreciate X, because with the Big East, we would likely be headlining an A-10 type of conference with them. 

[SacWarrior]

The article doesn't really call us out, just implies that it was a mistake adding us in terms of seeing the Big East as a football conference.

In fact it seems to be a congratulatory piece about the success of Marquette basketball making it a difficult decision. He seems to toss DePaul to the side easily, whereas they are in the same position as us. I think it's more of an article about how the Big East screwed up by considering us at all simply because we don't have a football program.

[Lennys Tap]

Uh...was he in high demand when he "signed up" at MU? 

I don't know what that has to do with it. My point is that when he signed MU's commitment to competing with the best was clear. A move from the Big East to, say, the A10 changes the landscape.

[GGGG]

I don't know what that has to do with it. My point is that when he signed MU's commitment to competing with the best was clear. A move from the Big East to, say, the A10 changes the landscape.

My point is that if MU was still in the CUSA, he wouldn't have been waiting for offers for teams in more competitive conferences.  He still would have signed on as head coach.  So saying "that's not what he signed up for" is inaccurate.

[Lennys Tap]

How have we compared the last 10 years vs. Gonzaga or X???? Seems to me both the Zags and X have had more success than MU.

I'm not saying that we've outdone Gonzaga or Xavier over the last 10 years. We haven't. I do think that that we have the potential (ceiling) to become a "top tier" Big East team (Syracuse, Nova, Pitt, Georgetown), and to me that's a step up from Gonzaga or Xavier. If we drop down to the A10, though, I think the most we can even HOPE for is to be Xavier.

[Lennys Tap]

My point is that if MU was still in the CUSA, he wouldn't have been waiting for offers for teams in more competitive conferences.  He still would have signed on as head coach.  So saying "that's not what he signed up for" is inaccurate.

He signed up to coach Marquette in the Big East and said he was here as long as Marquette wanted him. That was based in part on MU's commitment to compete at the highest level. If circumstances (a return to a CUSA like situation) make it impossible to compete at that level then MU shouldn't expect to keep him.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Just think for one moment where we would be right now if we didn't accomplish what we did from 2000-2003.

For all the haters out there, just think about it for a second.  Would we even be in the Big East right now to have this discussion?

Would we have built the program up enough to be able to say 5 straight NCAA appearances?

Would we have been able to lure a head coach at another DI school to be an assistant (Buzz Williams)?

Timing is everything gang.  Just think about if we would be where we are today if not for what happened in that time period.  Takes some of that shine of the hate, now doesn't it!

[bma725]

Never.

The NCAA is at the whim of its member institutions...especially the larger ones.  They will not be able to touch the football profits because the BCS schools won't let them.  If they try doing so, those schools can simply leave and do their own thing not only in football, but in each of the other sports that the NCAA relies on them for.

They rely on the NCAA much more for those other sports than the NCAA relies on them.  That's perhaps the only reason the BCS schools haven't split off on their own already.  Administration of the other non-revenue sports is an overwhelming hassle that they don't want to take on.  They'd much rather leave it to the NCAA than try to deal with the headaches themselves.

[GGGG]

They rely on the NCAA much more for those other sports than the NCAA relies on them.  That's perhaps the only reason the BCS schools haven't split off on their own already.  Administration of the other non-revenue sports is an overwhelming hassle that they don't want to take on.  They'd much rather leave it to the NCAA than try to deal with the headaches themselves.

Right.  Everything is in balance right now.  However, if the NCAA makes a grab at football money, that rapidly pushes it out of balance.

[PE8983]

"Just think for one moment where we would be right now if we didn't accomplish what we did from 2000-2003."

Translation: All hail the tan one...

[Coleman]

 
We better appreciate X, because with the Big East, we would likely be headlining an A-10 type of conference with them. 

This. We will see this sometime in the future. Some modified version of the A-10, with MU and Depaul in it, will more than likely be happening.  It might not be ideal, but it won't be Armageddon.

[GGGG]

"Just think for one moment where we would be right now if we didn't accomplish what we did from 2000-2003."

Translation: All hail the tan one...

Well, he's right.  Without the work that Crean did leading up to the Final Four, we aren't in the BE.

[PE8983]

Wow.  We got thru 2+ whole pages of conference talk before he found a way to praise TC - must have fallen asleep...

[StillAWarrior]

"Just think for one moment where we would be right now if we didn't accomplish what we did from 2000-2003."

Translation: All hail the tan one  even if you hate him and think he was a SOB, you've got to respect and appreciate what he brought to the program...

FTFY

[Ron Paul]

If you don't pay your buck o'five who will.

[bilsu]

Buzz has always said he'll stay as long as MU wants him, but it's a two way street. If the Big East dumps MU, it relegates us to mid major status. Losing the Big East makes Gonzaga and Xavier our ceiling. That's not what he signed up for and I wouldn't blame him if he felt unwanted under those circumstances.

It seems to me that Gonzaga and Xavier are better programs than us.

[bilsu]

He signed up to coach Marquette in the Big East and said he was here as long as Marquette wanted him. That was based in part on MU's commitment to compete at the highest level. If circumstances (a return to a CUSA like situation) make it impossible to compete at that level then MU shouldn't expect to keep him.

Memphis competes at a high level. Losing the Big East conference would hurt, but it does not mean we will not still be competing at a high level.

[Marquette84]

He signed up to coach Marquette in the Big East and said he was here as long as Marquette wanted him. That was based in part on MU's commitment to compete at the highest level. If circumstances (a return to a CUSA like situation) make it impossible to compete at that level then MU shouldn't expect to keep him.

Buzz signed on to coach New Orleans. Then he signed up to be an assistant coach at MU.  I seriously doubt that he felt that a successful Big East team represented the floor for someone with his coaching experience.  

Frankly, had we hired Brad Brownell instead of Buzz, its likely that Buzz would have been more than happy to sign up for the vacancy at Wright State.

Finally, given that both Gonzaga and Xavier (and let's throw in Butler) have reached the Sweet 16 or better during Buzz's tenure at MU, suggesting that those programs somehow operate at a lower competitive level seems to be contrary to fact.

[ChicosBailBonds]

"Just think for one moment where we would be right now if we didn't accomplish what we did from 2000-2003."

Translation: All hail the tan one...

Translation...timing is everything and hatred blinds reality.

[john_cocktoasten]

if MU gets pushed out of the BE the program will begin to trend downward.