St. Thomas game on FS1

[Shooter McGavin]

DePaul has 66 Big East wins in 18 seasons.

Shaka has 28 Big East wins in 2 seasons.

That is a crazy stat. 

[panda]

DePaul has 66 Big East wins in 18 seasons.

Shaka has 28 Big East wins in 2 seasons.

Sleeping giant

[brewcity77]

Sleeping giant

I think people have just been spelling "gnat" incorrectly all along.

[dgies9156]

OK, have a Tommie for a brother.

The assumption that St. Thomas could never be a serious Division 1 competitor lacks any sense of perspective. I'm amazed at folks from Marquette, of all places, suggesting the Tommies have no chance.

Reality 1: St. Thomas is not far off the same size as Gonzaga, Marquette, Villanova, Georgetown etc. In 1978, if someone said Georgetown would win the national championship just a few years later, you'd have been laughed out of college basketball.

Reality 2: This is not CFP football. A good head coach, two or three three-stars and you've got the making of an NCAA tournament team, especially if you coach up the rest of your team. Peoples Exhibit I -- The Badgers! I hate those rodents but the team lacks burger boys and it's talent is slightly better than average. Yet, Greg Gard gets the most of them.

Reality 3: While the "U" is the media king of the Twin Cities, why is that? Possibly because no other school has been "as good" as the "U". I'll bet if the Tommies hired their version of Shaka, won consistently and beat the likes of Villanova or UConn, they'd pack their arena and the community would rally around them! They'd find a way to be on FoxSports12 or something.

We are a school whose basketball team was headed for the mud we now think St. Thomas was in as recently as, I don't know, five years ago! The difference is they're growing and we were badly regressing. We were able to bring Coach Shaka in and, guess what ... we're back!

Maybe they'll find their version of Coach Shaka and... look out!

[The Sultan]

We are a school whose basketball team was headed for the mud we now think St. Thomas was in as recently as, I don't know, five years ago! The difference is they're growing and we were badly regressing. We were able to bring Coach Shaka in and, guess what ... we're back!

This is a ridiculous take. Marquette regressed under Wojo for sure. But even then, Marquette was light years ahead of St. Thomas. 

Yes it is certainly possible for St. Thomas to grow into something. But to do that, they will have to not only find their Shaka but hold onto him.  Like the Zags have been able to do with Mark Few. 

Not to mention they would need to win consistently, draw more than 1,200 a game, and work their way up.

So sure its POSSIBLE.  It is just highly, highly unlikely.  I mean schools that have been around a lot longer and have been way more successful haven't been able to do it. What is so special about St. Thomas?

[PGsHeroes32]

OK, have a Tommie for a brother.

The assumption that St. Thomas could never be a serious Division 1 competitor lacks any sense of perspective. I'm amazed at folks from Marquette, of all places, suggesting the Tommies have no chance.

Reality 1: St. Thomas is not far off the same size as Gonzaga, Marquette, Villanova, Georgetown etc. In 1978, if someone said Georgetown would win the national championship just a few years later, you'd have been laughed out of college basketball.

Reality 2: This is not CFP football. A good head coach, two or three three-stars and you've got the making of an NCAA tournament team, especially if you coach up the rest of your team. Peoples Exhibit I -- The Badgers! I hate those rodents but the team lacks burger boys and it's talent is slightly better than average. Yet, Greg Gard gets the most of them.

Reality 3: While the "U" is the media king of the Twin Cities, why is that? Possibly because no other school has been "as good" as the "U". I'll bet if the Tommies hired their version of Shaka, won consistently and beat the likes of Villanova or UConn, they'd pack their arena and the community would rally around them! They'd find a way to be on FoxSports12 or something.

We are a school whose basketball team was headed for the mud we now think St. Thomas was in as recently as, I don't know, five years ago! The difference is they're growing and we were badly regressing. We were able to bring Coach Shaka in and, guess what ... we're back!

Maybe they'll find their version of Coach Shaka and... look out!

LOL wtf

[Dr. Blackheart]

OK, have a Tommie for a brother.

The assumption that St. Thomas could never be a serious Division 1 competitor lacks any sense of perspective. I'm amazed at folks from Marquette, of all places, suggesting the Tommies have no chance.

Reality 1: St. Thomas is not far off the same size as Gonzaga, Marquette, Villanova, Georgetown etc. In 1978, if someone said Georgetown would win the national championship just a few years later, you'd have been laughed out of college basketball.

Reality 2: This is not CFP football. A good head coach, two or three three-stars and you've got the making of an NCAA tournament team, especially if you coach up the rest of your team. Peoples Exhibit I -- The Badgers! I hate those rodents but the team lacks burger boys and it's talent is slightly better than average. Yet, Greg Gard gets the most of them.

Reality 3: While the "U" is the media king of the Twin Cities, why is that? Possibly because no other school has been "as good" as the "U". I'll bet if the Tommies hired their version of Shaka, won consistently and beat the likes of Villanova or UConn, they'd pack their arena and the community would rally around them! They'd find a way to be on FoxSports12 or something.

We are a school whose basketball team was headed for the mud we now think St. Thomas was in as recently as, I don't know, five years ago! The difference is they're growing and we were badly regressing. We were able to bring Coach Shaka in and, guess what ... we're back!

Maybe they'll find their version of Coach Shaka and... look out!

Trap game then

[Galway Eagle]

OK, have a Tommie for a brother.

The assumption that St. Thomas could never be a serious Division 1 competitor lacks any sense of perspective. I'm amazed at folks from Marquette, of all places, suggesting the Tommies have no chance.

Reality 1: St. Thomas is not far off the same size as Gonzaga, Marquette, Villanova, Georgetown etc. In 1978, if someone said Georgetown would win the national championship just a few years later, you'd have been laughed out of college basketball.

Reality 2: This is not CFP football. A good head coach, two or three three-stars and you've got the making of an NCAA tournament team, especially if you coach up the rest of your team. Peoples Exhibit I -- The Badgers! I hate those rodents but the team lacks burger boys and it's talent is slightly better than average. Yet, Greg Gard gets the most of them.

Reality 3: While the "U" is the media king of the Twin Cities, why is that? Possibly because no other school has been "as good" as the "U". I'll bet if the Tommies hired their version of Shaka, won consistently and beat the likes of Villanova or UConn, they'd pack their arena and the community would rally around them! They'd find a way to be on FoxSports12 or something.

We are a school whose basketball team was headed for the mud we now think St. Thomas was in as recently as, I don't know, five years ago! The difference is they're growing and we were badly regressing. We were able to bring Coach Shaka in and, guess what ... we're back!

Maybe they'll find their version of Coach Shaka and... look out!

Regarding Georgetown in 1978 they made the NIT semi finals and finished the year ranked 20. Yeah people probably would laugh at you for saying they'd win a championship but right now people would laugh if you said St Thomas could even get ranked number 20 let alone advance in the tournament.

[warriorfred]

OK, have a Tommie for a brother.

The assumption that St. Thomas could never be a serious Division 1 competitor lacks any sense of perspective. I'm amazed at folks from Marquette, of all places, suggesting the Tommies have no chance.

Reality 1: St. Thomas is not far off the same size as Gonzaga, Marquette, Villanova, Georgetown etc. In 1978, if someone said Georgetown would win the national championship just a few years later, you'd have been laughed out of college basketball.

Reality 2: This is not CFP football. A good head coach, two or three three-stars and you've got the making of an NCAA tournament team, especially if you coach up the rest of your team. Peoples Exhibit I -- The Badgers! I hate those rodents but the team lacks burger boys and it's talent is slightly better than average. Yet, Greg Gard gets the most of them.

Reality 3: While the "U" is the media king of the Twin Cities, why is that? Possibly because no other school has been "as good" as the "U". I'll bet if the Tommies hired their version of Shaka, won consistently and beat the likes of Villanova or UConn, they'd pack their arena and the community would rally around them! They'd find a way to be on FoxSports12 or something.

We are a school whose basketball team was headed for the mud we now think St. Thomas was in as recently as, I don't know, five years ago! The difference is they're growing and we were badly regressing. We were able to bring Coach Shaka in and, guess what ... we're back!

Maybe they'll find their version of Coach Shaka and... look out!

As a Tommie (and Warrior), I wish St. Thomas well.  I would be thrilled if they were in the Big East and regularly packing the Xcel Energy Center.  But is it possible?

Absent divine intervention, NO.

[MU82]

Why stop at the Big East? Tommies to the Big 148!

[CountryRoads]

I respect their aspirations. Having people who care enough to see the program reach new heights (however unrealistic they may be) is a huge first step.

[DefinitelyNotPorterMoser]

Like others, I have a hard time seeing St. Thomas jump into Big East territory anytime soon. I think a much more realistic goal is the MVC.

That being said, there is a chance for the Tommies to gain some momentum. Interest level in Gopher hoops has to be at or near an all-time low. There is a lot of talent that has left the Twin Cities in the last few years ... can Tauer convince some of it to come back home through a transfer?

The portal, of course, is a double-edge sword. It's going to be more difficult for emerging mid-majors like St. Thomas to build their program if they have to worry about kids jumping every year.

[Coleman]

My sister was a four year XC runner for St. Thomas (when they were D3). I joked to her recently that now she can say she ran at a D1 school!

I think what the Tommys have managed to do is pretty remarkable, and good for them. But they are about 5 steps away from even being in consideration for a Big East bid, and each of those steps is probably a 5-7 year journey, at best. It would look something like this:

1. String together 5 or 6 really good seasons in the Summit League, including multiple conference championships and NCAA bids.
2. Get invited to the Missouri Valley Conference, then repeat Step 1.
3. Get invited to the Atlantic 10 conference, then repeat Step 1.
4. Make a couple of deep NCAA tourney runs.
5. Get lucky and hope the Big East wants to expand and hasn't already invited better programs by that point.

Again, you're probably talking 15 years at the soonest, and hope a lot of things go right for your program along the way.

[Jay Bee]

Crown their a$$!

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

The path is not out of reach. But it is a LONG hike.

Best way i can think to put it. And honestly there are other schools out there with shorter hikes. And i don't think it's any shorter of a hike then schools likes Denver or Boston U.

The stars would really have to align for the Tommies to have any shot

[dgies9156]

Gang:

I never said they'd be there anytime soon. I don't buy it either but it's possible.

Stranger things have happened.

[PointWarrior]

UW-Milwaukee wins a national title before St Thomas is admitted to the Big East.   Stranger things have happened.

Gang:

I never said they'd be there anytime soon. I don't buy it either but it's possible.

Stranger things have happened.

[Galway Eagle]

Belmont moved up from NAIA they're in a large media market and have a basketball focus.

Despite a ton a of success they're not even remotely on the big east radar. I think that's a good team for st Thomas to compare themselves to.

[frozena pizza]

It's not completely crazy. I live in St. Paul, very nearly went to St. Thomas, and my wife teaches as an adjunct there. UST would only slightly expand the BE footprint (5ish hrs from Omaha and Milwaukee) but add another large market of viewers without splitting an existing BE fan base. The school's urban campus, student body size, endowment level and Catholic affiliation all align with the Big East's current membership. Sure, they don't draw a ton of fans now but if you put their games at the Target Center or Xcel and bring in Marquette, UConn, Villanova, etc. that will change quickly. They are also already comparable if not better than some BE programs in other sports. Hire a well respected coach, get their donors excited, and land a couple of high profile local recruits and they could be middle of the conference within 5 years. Locally, this has been a well known aspiration of UST for years: https://shamasportsheadliners.com/tommies-hoops-future-looks-bright/.

[Dr. Blackheart]

It's not completely crazy. I live in St. Paul, very nearly went to St. Thomas, and my wife teaches as an adjunct there. UST would only slightly expand the BE footprint (5ish hrs from Omaha and Milwaukee) but add another large market of viewers without splitting an existing BE fan base. The school's urban campus, student body size, endowment level and Catholic affiliation all align with the Big East's current membership. Sure, they don't draw a ton of fans now but if you put their games at the Target Center or Xcel and bring in Marquette, UConn, Villanova, etc. that will change quickly. They are also already comparable if not better than some BE programs in other sports. Hire a well respected coach, get their donors excited, and land a couple of high profile local recruits and they could be middle of the conference within 5 years. Locally, this has been a well known aspiration of UST for years: https://shamasportsheadliners.com/tommies-hoops-future-looks-bright/.

But, is there a Tommy Scoop?

[Uncle Rico]

Lot of energy spent the last few years on worrying about St. Thomas and the Big East.  Think Marquette fans are as terrified of them as they are of UWM

[Tha Hound]

The buildings at St. Thomas actually match and present a coherent campus.  Lalumiere Hall, by itself, disqualifies Marquette from having a "pretty campus."

One of the worst takes I've seen on scoop, in a sea of horrendous takes

[Shaka Shart]

Dayton says hi

Lol

[MU82]

All those dismissing the Tommies ... that's bulletin board material!

I can just hear it now ...

"We didn't really think we had a chance, but coach read us what everyone was saying on Scoop, and we knew we had to prove them wrong!"

[wadesworld]

Gang:

I never said they'd be there anytime soon. I don't buy it either but it's possible.

Stranger things have happened.

So why the long post calling out MU fans for being too full of themselves if all you were doing was agreeing with all those entitled fans thinking they're too good for St. Thomas?

It's possible, but it's extremely unlikely and/or a very long way out.

I'd say Gonzaga and even Duke in the Big East is far more likely.  And I don't think those happen either.