Mark Few rips on WCC

[GooooMarquette]

Never been to Spokane, but have heard nice things about it.  Frankly, I'd love to have the Zags in the BE and make a road trip to see a game there.

But although this hasn't been mentioned, I wonder if the TV market is as much of an issue as geography for the BE presidents.  Long flights would be a pain...but if it meant a market like LA, SF or Seattle, the BE presidents might go for it.  Is the Spokane market enough to make up for the travel headaches?  Looks like it would right there with Omaha as one of the smallest markets in the BE...but with much longer flights from the east coast. 

For reference on the travel headaches, there are a couple of commercial nonstops from NYC to Omaha that take about 3 1/2 hours.  The only commercial flights from NYC to Spokane require connections and take 7 1/2 hours or more.  Is it worth more than twice the travel time to get a market the same size as Omaha?

[keefe]

Who said Spokane was a less desirable place to live?  I've been there once.  Seemed fine to me.

And yes, it is isolated geographically compared to the Big East.  Just look at any map and that's what you'll see.

All you have to do is read through every thread posted on the Zags and there are comments about Spokane's livability.

In any event, I have said numerous times, the only way the Zags come in is if they can craft a western division of schools to complement the eastern group. Under this arrangement one would play each division member twice and the other division schools once per season.

I know for a fact this has been looked at by both the Big East and Gonzaga. What I don't know is ascribing a probability. And like I said, my intel is now two years old.

Personally, I welcome this sort of an arrangement. A western conference of some mix of Gonzaga, St Mary's, Pepperdine, BYU, Creighton, DePaul, and Marquette would not be bad.

For those who worry about diluting the brand I think they need to be honest about where we are at in the overall landscape.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Who said Spokane was a less desirable place to live?  I've been there once.  Seemed fine to me.

And yes, it is isolated geographically compared to the Big East.  Just look at any map and that's what you'll see.

It's what we say in New England-speak, "You can't get there from here."

[GGGG]

Where we are in the overall landscape?  I lot better than the WCC.  The Big East has half of its members in the NCAA tournament.  The WCC has 1.  The BE is #4 in conference RPI this year.  The WCC is #14.  The BE has a lucrative TV contract.  The WCC doesn't.

I really want no part of a BE where we share a division with DePaul, Creighton, St. Marys, BYU, Pepperdine and Gonzaga.

And I read this entire thread and saw no knock on Spokane.

[Benny B]

I love how people suggest Spokane is on Mars. Or that it is a less than desirable place to live.

I hate to say it but has anyone taken an objective look at Milwaukee? It isn't that great in many ways and if you aren't from there it is even less appealing.

I loved my time at Marquette but not once did I ever think that I wanted to settle in Milwaukee.

OK.  Let's take an objective look at Milwaukee and Spokane:

One has Gonzaga, the other has Marquette.  Case closed.

[StillAWarrior]

I love how people suggest Spokane is on Mars. Or that it is a less than desirable place to live.

I don't know if you're including my comment that "Spokane is a long ways away from anywhere" as suggesting that it's a less than desirable place to live, but nothing could be further from the truth.  As you know, I grew up a long way from anywhere.  That is not an undesirable trait for me.  It's more a function of the geography in that part of the world -- there's a lot of open space out there.

From a more personal perspective, one of my brothers went to Gonzaga and loved the school and the area.  And, my oldest brother recently moved from SoCal to the country about 20 minutes southwest of Spokane.  He's living the dream...and I'm jealous as hell.  I've nothing even remotely against Spokane.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

All you have to do is read through every thread posted on the Zags and there are comments about Spokane's livability.

In any event, I have said numerous times, the only way the Zags come in is if they can craft a western division of schools to complement the eastern group. Under this arrangement one would play each division member twice and the other division schools once per season.

I know for a fact this has been looked at by both the Big East and Gonzaga. What I don't know is ascribing a probability. And like I said, my intel is now two years old.

Personally, I welcome this sort of an arrangement. A western conference of some mix of Gonzaga, St Mary's, Pepperdine, BYU, Creighton, DePaul, and Marquette would not be bad.

For those who worry about diluting the brand I think they need to be honest about where we are at in the overall landscape.

That's a terrible conference. 6 of the 7 of those schools didn't make the tournament, and the only reason Gonzaga did was because they won the autobid.

[keefe]

I don't know if you're including my comment that "Spokane is a long ways away from anywhere" as suggesting that it's a less than desirable place to live, but nothing could be further from the truth.  As you know, I grew up a long way from anywhere.  That is not an undesirable trait for me.  It's more a function of the geography in that part of the world -- there's a lot of open space out there.

From a more personal perspective, one of my brothers went to Gonzaga and loved the school and the area.  And, my oldest brother recently moved from SoCal to the country about 20 minutes southwest of Spokane.  He's living the dream...and I'm jealous as hell.  I've nothing even remotely against Spokane.

Rob

No issues, mate. Jams is the one who always plays the 'no one would ever want to move to Spokane card' to support his anti-Zags agenda.

As you know, while I prefer northern NM I think Durango is an outstanding second choice.

The Inland Empire is spectacular. You have to like the outdoors but if you do there are places finer.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Rob

No issues, mate. Jams is the one who always plays the 'no one would ever want to move to Spokane card' to support his anti-Zags agenda.

As you know, while I prefer northern NM I think Durango is an outstanding second choice.

The Inland Empire is spectacular. You have to like the outdoors but if you do there are places finer.

For the record, I love Spokane.  What I said is it takes a special person to want to live there long term.  It is not because it isn't beautiful, to me it is more because it is isolated, not very big.  My wife, for example, enjoys the visit, but could not live there.  Boise was that way for her for a long time.  It was not a rip on Spokane, but more that it takes a different kind of coach to be there long term.  The same situation has been the case for Washington State for years.  Keeping coaches in Pullman is tough....that's not a rip on Pullman, but many people just want to be closer to urban centers, etc.

[MU82]

Butler is different from Gonzaga in that it has two Final Fours under its belt, and both very recent.  Gonzaga has only gotten as far as the Elite Eight.  Still very good, but a big difference in perception.

Do you really think if you asked casual college basketball fans "who has the better program, Gonzaga or Butler," the majority would choose Butler?

I sure don't. IMHO, Gonzaga has become kind of a national brand.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Do you really think if you asked casual college basketball fans "who has the better program, Gonzaga or Butler," the majority would choose Butler?

I sure don't. IMHO, Gonzaga has become kind of a national brand.

On that same note, if you asked someone to name a former player or coach from Butler or Gonzaga, Gordon Hayward, Shelvin Mack and Brad Steven would all be mentioned before Kevin Pangos and Adam Morrison. Hell, Matt Howard may be mentioned before those guys.

[keefe]

For the record, I love Spokane.  What I said is it takes a special person to want to live there long term.  It is not because it isn't beautiful, to me it is more because it is isolated, not very big.  My wife, for example, enjoys the visit, but could not live there.  Boise was that way for her for a long time.  It was not a rip on Spokane, but more that it takes a different kind of coach to be there long term.  The same situation has been the case for Washington State for years.  Keeping coaches in Pullman is tough....that's not a rip on Pullman, but many people just want to be closer to urban centers, etc.

Now Pullman, in the other hand, is tough duty. In July and August the Palouse is stunning. But Pullman isn't much of a town.

I like Idaho but for my money I would focus on Sun Valley. If that is where you bought property you chose well. Ketchum is a very with it place.

We used to fly the ranges over southern Idaho and Nevada and it was like flying over the moon. But since it looked a lot like A Stan it was great training - especially since we got to blow sh1t up.

[GGGG]

Do you really think if you asked casual college basketball fans "who has the better program, Gonzaga or Butler," the majority would choose Butler?

I sure don't. IMHO, Gonzaga has become kind of a national brand.

The casual fan is a moron.  Gonzaga is a very good program in a weak a$$ conference.  If they were chosen for the BE instead of Butler, Gonzaga would be a mid-pack BE team and Butler would be dominated the Horizon League like Gonzaga does the WCC.

[GooooMarquette]

Do you really think if you asked casual college basketball fans "who has the better program, Gonzaga or Butler," the majority would choose Butler?

I sure don't. IMHO, Gonzaga has become kind of a national brand.

Tournament revenue brings in more $$$ than casual fans.

[muwarrior69]

Where we are in the overall landscape?  I lot better than the WCC.  The Big East has half of its members in the NCAA tournament.  The WCC has 1.  The BE is #4 in conference RPI this year.  The WCC is #14.  The BE has a lucrative TV contract.  The WCC doesn't.

I really want no part of a BE where we share a division with DePaul, Creighton, St. Marys, BYU, Pepperdine and Gonzaga.

And I read this entire thread and saw no knock on Spokane.

The other factor no one is mentioning is what value would all those West Coast teams bring to the Big East Tournament. Would the Garden be packed for a St. Mary's vs Gonzaga championship game?

I guess we will see how good they are tonight when Seton Hall plays them in Denver.

[WarriorFan]

Gonzaga is Legit, St. Mary's has been good for a while, and USF (the real USF, in San Francisco) just decided to get better.  (Plus, they have a great tradition).  I'd rather have them than DePaul, Dayton, St. Louis...

[rocket surgeon]

looks like the 'zags are continuing to carry the wcc-they a kickin the schmit out of the ncaa's version of upper echelon so far.  on a mission.  note to the big east-go get the zags and buy 'em a jet or something ein'a

[GGGG]

Zags likely going to make the Elite 8 playing the winner of MTSU and Syracuse.  Then would have to play winner of UVa and Iowa State.

Doable.

[GooooMarquette]

Zags likely going to make the Elite 8 playing the winner of MTSU and Syracuse.  Then would have to play winner of UVa and Iowa State.

Doable.

I'd love to see Few get to the FF.  It would be ironic if he did it this year because he's had several better teams, but that just shows what a crapshoot the Dance can be.

[keefe]

I'd love to see Few get to the FF.  It would be ironic if he did it this year because he's had several better teams, but that just shows what a crapshoot the Dance can be.

Man, that's a foul. You cannot use a Chicoism (Crap shoot) to say something nice about the Zags.

[4everwarriors]

Chicos makes a very good case for why Gonzaga might not be a good choice.  They are a hot basketball name sure, but if they "do a DePaul" the Big East is stuck with a bad basketball program, 2,000 miles away, and in a crappy media market.

If Nova does a DePaul, at least they are in Philadelphia and are geographically close.

Can da same thin' start to be said 'bout MU, hey?

[ChicosBailBonds]

I'd love to see Few get to the FF.  It would be ironic if he did it this year because he's had several better teams, but that just shows what a crapshoot the Dance can be.

It happens.  Remember Dale Brown with Shaq and a few other NBA players, never could get out of the first weekend.  Then he takes a 12 or 13 seed (if memory serves) to the Final Four.  I'm sure there are numerous examples, but that is one that sticks in my memory.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Can da same thin' start to be said 'bout MU, hey?

I don't think so.  MU has been a consistent program (sans a 10 year period) for fifty years with multiple different coaches.

Gonzaga, not really.  MU also is in a great league and in a state that produces decent talent, plus Chicago down the road.  Gonzaga is in poor basketball producing state, terrible league.  They just don't have nearly the other benefits going for them if they go south.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Gonna be tough for Gonzaga. Gonna be a home court for Iowa State. All the milwaukee families for Deonte and McKay, and everyone from Chicago and the North suburbs are gonna be there for Nader.

[brandx]

It's what we say in New England-speak, "You can't get there from here."

I thought REM said that.