A-10 Outlook for 2023-24

[jcru]

jersey, I said this before and I'll say it again. Those moves, shouldn't excite anyone, teams, players, coaches, fans, etc.

The only people excited by those fool hearty moves, are the people who RUN THE CONFERENCE, who stand to make $$$ from those deals. Because no one else is benefitting by them.

So, unless you have a buddy that works for the Conference management office, OR you are in the Conference management office, people are going to be really perplexed as to why you are cheerleading these moves on this message board.

Like I said before. We had DC Rams, who was a "David Cox (DC)" fan first, and a URI basketball fan 2nd. And now we have you, who seems to be an A-10 fan first and foremost. Pretty much the same deal. It absolutely makes all the sense in the world for URI fans to be challenging your opinions on this subject. Only one group stands to gain by an oversized, watered down Conference that produces one bid, possibly two under ideal circumstances.

This is not the A-10 of 10 years ago, or even 5 years ago, and the NCAA recognizes that fact.

[NYGFan_Section208]

Then I think it’s short sighted and stupid. The obvious aim is to have another “anchor” in the Midwest to keep 2 prominent programs - Dayton and St Louis - happy with a travel partner to keep expenses down.

However, if that team sucks, it will hurt both of those programs by sinking their net playing them 2x a year and will end up costing them more money in missed NCAA chances than they’d save in travel costs.

Unless you change the payout structure there’s really no incentive for a Dayton or St Louis to stay in the conference if someone else comes calling.

Blue Man, yes the geography in helping grow the Midwest footprint, proximity to Dayton and St. Louis (helping to keep them happy), and of course adding the Chicago market, in media negotiations, all played a part.
They were the media darlings and major talk of their 2018 Final 4 NCAAT run.
Plus a 2021 Sweet 16 and another 2022 NCAAT bid, were all factors.

They also recently added a $19M state of the art practice facility.

It is still too early to tell how Valentine will work out and how competitive his team will be in the future.

So yeah, taking in all the factors including the pros and cons, the A10 members felt it was a positive move.

Also in this current climate of conference realignment and expansion going on, the A10 wanted to be proactive.

Proactively doing the wrong thing is just accelerating doom.

The Big East nailed realignment and has one of the best conferences in the country. A smaller conference with better teams is way better for both TV contracts (money) and NCAA births (money).

A larger, watered down conference of mid major teams doesn’t help anyone. In fact, it hurts. The league essentially added 1-2 extra Q4 games for all members, and will cause a ripple affect that drops everyone’s NET 20 spots just by being on everyone’s schedule.

What they should’ve been “proactive” in doing was something different. P5s are expanding with GOOD TEAMS. We have expanded with shitty small time schools and are pretending it’s the same thing. It’s not. This is a dumb plan and it’s going to get worse.

Totally agree. I was going to 'like' the post, but ...there's nothing to 'like' about these facts.
If there were an 'Agree' option, I'd have selected, but nothing like-able about this...

Maybe we should try to get UMBC while we're at it....

[Jersey77]

jersey, I said this before and I'll say it again. Those moves, shouldn't excite anyone, teams, players, coaches, fans, etc.

The only people excited by those fool hearty moves, are the people who RUN THE CONFERENCE, who stand to make $$$ from those deals. Because no one else is benefitting by them.

So, unless you have a buddy that works for the Conference management office, OR you are in the Conference management office, people are going to be really perplexed as to why you are cheerleading these moves on this message board.

Like I said before. We had DC Rams, who was a "David Cox (DC)" fan first, and a URI basketball fan 2nd. And now we have you, who seems to be an A-10 fan first and foremost. Pretty much the same deal. It absolutely makes all the sense in the world for URI fans to be challenging your opinions on this subject. Only one group stands to gain by an oversized, watered down Conference that produces one bid, possibly two under ideal circumstances.

This is not the A-10 of 10 years ago, or even 5 years ago, and the NCAA recognizes that fact.

Another one accusing me of not being a Rhody fan, not surprising.

We were discussing Loyola/Chicago and I am sticking to my opinion.

The only reason I root for the A10 is because URI is a member, if that ever changes then of course I stick with Rhody wherever they end up.

[theblueram]

jersey, I said this before and I'll say it again. Those moves, shouldn't excite anyone, teams, players, coaches, fans, etc.

The only people excited by those fool hearty moves, are the people who RUN THE CONFERENCE, who stand to make $$$ from those deals. Because no one else is benefitting by them.

So, unless you have a buddy that works for the Conference management office, OR you are in the Conference management office, people are going to be really perplexed as to why you are cheerleading these moves on this message board.

Like I said before. We had DC Rams, who was a "David Cox (DC)" fan first, and a URI basketball fan 2nd. And now we have you, who seems to be an A-10 fan first and foremost. Pretty much the same deal. It absolutely makes all the sense in the world for URI fans to be challenging your opinions on this subject. Only one group stands to gain by an oversized, watered down Conference that produces one bid, possibly two under ideal circumstances.

This is not the A-10 of 10 years ago, or even 5 years ago, and the NCAA recognizes that fact.

Another one accusing me of not being a Rhody fan, not surprising.

We were discussing Loyola/Chicago and I am sticking to my opinion.

The only reason I root for the A10 is because URI is a member, if that ever changes then of course I stick with Rhody wherever they end up.

Loyola was the worst addition to the A10. I said it when it happened and still stand by that.

[jcru]

Here's a riddle for you.

Why would anyone stay in a 15 member, going on 16 member conference and hope, that with an absolutely fabulous year they get two NCAAT bids?

so that would be 16/2 = 8. Or 1 bid per 8 teams, or a 1 in 8 chance of going to the NCAAT.

When you could just be a member of a 8 member Conference and guarantee having a 1 in 8 chance of going to the NCAAT every single year?

And the answer is MONEY. MONEY flowing, money going to Conference Presidents and staff, Money going to individual schools, maybe not increasing, but money they are counting on and trying to keep it status quo. It's all money, it has absolutely nothing to do with being successful, if you measure success in NCAAT bids for your team and your school.

And when the interest dwindles, because you are a 15 or 16 member conference, and only get one bid per year, the money will soon dwindle too, and that will be gone, and then there will be nothing.

[Jersey77]

Not sure why most folk's Hindsight Meters wouldn't be flashing "Heck. No." I mean, everyone here had a close up vision of what a real life train wreck looks like...so should be able to retroactively spot an even worse train wreck, with a nohehoh conductor...in the same conference...?

Not really fair to call the Loyola situation a train wreck after just one season in the A10.
That is almost like second guessing the hire of Archie after just his first season here and finishing 14th, not fair.

Unlike Cox, Valentine took his team to the NCAAT and winning the MVC Championship.
That was after losing their best player Krutwig from the prior season (15 pts/7 rebs/ 3 assists in 20-21)

Loyola/Chicago has invested in their program unlike some other schools.

Because it was their 1st season in the A10 and had to rebuild much of their roster, I would give Valentine a pass for 22-23, like I did for Archie.

Valentine took Porter Moser's players to the tournament in a one bid league and sucked with his own players in the Atlantic 10. Which was a definite possibility that people that weren't drunk on some nun saw coming. Fordham Chicago has been terrible at basketball since the 60's outside of Porter Moser

Who cares about their ancient basketball history.
The fact is they have been investing in their program.

When they promoted Valentine 2 years ago he was the youngest HC in Div. 1 basketball.
As I said before he took that team minus Krutwig who was the best player in the conference and an AP All-American to the NCAAT and winning the MVC Championship.

Last year was only his second year as HC (31 years old) in a new conference and a team he had to rebuild.

You guys are trashing him without even giving him a chance.

Besides nothing wrong with media publicity and their dollars.
Back in 2018 when Loyola went to the Final 4, Sister Jean was getting more media/press coverage than Porter Moser.

If Loyola is such a drain on the conference financially, the member schools wouldn't have unanimously voted them in.

[NYGFan_Section208]

Here's a riddle..

And when the interest dwindles, because you are a 15 or 16 member conference, and only get one bid per year, the money will soon dwindle too, and that will be gone, and then there will be nothing.

At first I thought this was Grateful Dead-ish, but it's not, it's totally Pink Floyd. (jmho)

[Jersey77]

Here's a riddle for you.

Why would anyone stay in a 15 member, going on 16 member conference and hope, that with an absolutely fabulous year they get two NCAAT bids?

so that would be 16/2 = 8. Or 1 bid per 8 teams, or a 1 in 8 chance of going to the NCAAT.

When you could just be a member of a 8 member Conference and guarantee having a 1 in 8 chance of going to the NCAAT every single year?

And the answer is MONEY. MONEY flowing, money going to Conference Presidents and staff, Money going to individual schools, maybe not increasing, but money they are counting on and trying to keep it status quo. It's all money, it has absolutely nothing to do with being successful, if you measure success in NCAAT bids for your team and your school.

And when the interest dwindles, because you are a 15 or 16 member conference, and only get one bid per year, the money will soon dwindle too, and that will be gone, and then there will be nothing.

Okay so we should drop out of the A10 join the new 8-team JCRU Conference and continue paying Archie $2M/year. Good luck with that.

[RIFan]

Many of us have been saying the same thing for years! I couldn’t believe they let Duquesne back in after they had left! I am also sounding the attendance and general interest alarm…teams from 1 bid leagues have terrible attendance numbers. You think the A10s TV deal sucks now just wait! We have no NCAA money coming in anymore and our TV deal will stink…wouldn’t be surprised if we had to pay to get games televised. So a future with low fan enthusiasm, with a bad TV contract and practically no league NCAA money is very plausible if the ship is not righted soon. UMass and URI willl hope to replicate what Vermont has accomplished in their crappy league.

[Jersey77]

Many of us have been saying the same thing for years! I couldn’t believe they let Duquesne back in after they had left! I am also sounding the attendance and general interest alarm…teams from 1 bid leagues have terrible attendance numbers. You think the A10s TV deal sucks now just wait! We have no NCAA money coming in anymore and our TV deal will stink…wouldn’t be surprised if we had to pay to get games televised. So a future with low fan enthusiasm, with a bad TV contract and practically no league NCAA money is very plausible if the ship is not righted soon. UMass and URI willl hope to replicate what Vermont has accomplished in their crappy league.

Very easy, the teams just need to win.

[RIFan]

So true, but why have they not for the last 3+ seasons? 1 or 2 bad years is an anomaly 3 is starting a trend.

All the trends in the game are bad for the A10. The expanding P5 means fewer chances for games against them, NIL-the football schools and the BE have the money, the transfer portal changes-it used to primarily our coaches that got poached now it’s them and the players.

[Jersey77]

So true, but why have they not for the last 3+ seasons? 1 or 2 bad years is an anomaly 3 is starting a trend.

All the trends in the game are bad for the A10. The expanding P5 means fewer chances for games against them, NIL-the football schools and the BE have the money, the transfer portal changes-it used to primarily our coaches that got poached now it’s them and the players.

I agree with you RIF about things being a little more difficult now.

But not as terrible as you think.

In 2022 Richmond won the A10T getting an auto bid and beat Iowa in the NCAAT (first game).
Davidson finished 1st reg season and only lost by 1 point to Michigan State in the NCAAT.
Dayton won the prestigious ESPN invitational beating Belmont, Miami/Fla, and Kansas
If they didn't crap their bed with some bad loses, especially those early 3-in-a row at home, they would have definitely got a bid.

[luke]

The posts on Keaney Blue this week no matter what the topic is have been increasingly negative about just about everything . do you think we
might wait until the season is in full swing to declare the demise of the A10 ? The truth is nobody knows anything about anything yet . there are some
kinds of ridiculous predictions floating around about how bad URI will be and how the A10 will be a one bid league again and they are all based on
nothing . The player turnover at URI and most other A10 teams tells me that we cannot predict anything for the coming season in the A10 at this
point . Wasn't Davidson picked to finish near the bottom of the A10 in their first season ? The ended up winning the regular season didn't they ?
And why were they predicted to struggle so mightily ? A good guess might be that the media and the coaches surrounding the A10 knew very little about
Davidson and made some false assumptions about their coaches and their talent level . Will all the "The sky is falling " predictions come to pass ?
I don't know , but neither does Rothstein or any of the other hacks that haven't seen one second of one minute of competitive action . Kind of like
the hype around that 4 star forward from Maryland that URI landed a few seasons ago in reverse . What was his name again ? I don't remember . It works both ways . URI has a couple of down seasons and the sharks smell the blood and circle the carcass . I don't really know if Archie was able to
fill his roster with players on the top of his wish lists or not or had to settle for what he could convince to show up after a terrible first season . I hope
he was able to get exactly what he was looking for or a very close approximation of his wish roster . If he was able to bring in his wish list of players then we are going to see a very good product on the court this coming season . I remember what Hurley once said that hhe always gets the players he wants .
Hope Archie can say the same . By the way , has anybody seen any scrimmaging from the current roster ? If so what did you think of them?

[bigappleram]

Agreed. The sky is falling people are so freakin tiresome. FAU literally just made a final four run. Charleston was the talk of the country for most of the season. Dayton is a couple years removed from a 1 seed. Win games and people will come and tourney invites will be had. It has never been easy for Rhody. Is it a bit more difficult now, sure. But enough with woe is me crap.

[Jdrums#3]

Adapt and overcome, A10! It’s possible to do - even in this NIL, portal and P5 environment but all the programs need to be on the same page. No stragglers, no settlers for mediocrity.

For that reason, I actually like BlueMan’s earlier suggestion of incentivizing successful, NCAAT striving A10 programs. Everyone needs a kick in the ass sometimes and maybe now is a good time.

[theblueram]

The posts on Keaney Blue this week no matter what the topic is have been increasingly negative about just about everything . do you think we
might wait until the season is in full swing to declare the demise of the A10 ? The truth is nobody knows anything about anything yet . there are some
kinds of ridiculous predictions floating around about how bad URI will be and how the A10 will be a one bid league again and they are all based on
nothing . The player turnover at URI and most other A10 teams tells me that we cannot predict anything for the coming season in the A10 at this
point . Wasn't Davidson picked to finish near the bottom of the A10 in their first season ? The ended up winning the regular season didn't they ?
And why were they predicted to struggle so mightily ? A good guess might be that the media and the coaches surrounding the A10 knew very little about
Davidson and made some false assumptions about their coaches and their talent level . Will all the "The sky is falling " predictions come to pass ?
I don't know , but neither does Rothstein or any of the other hacks that haven't seen one second of one minute of competitive action . Kind of like
the hype around that 4 star forward from Maryland that URI landed a few seasons ago in reverse . What was his name again ? I don't remember . It works both ways . URI has a couple of down seasons and the sharks smell the blood and circle the carcass . I don't really know if Archie was able to
fill his roster with players on the top of his wish lists or not or had to settle for what he could convince to show up after a terrible first season . I hope
he was able to get exactly what he was looking for or a very close approximation of his wish roster . If he was able to bring in his wish list of players then we are going to see a very good product on the court this coming season . I remember what Hurley once said that hhe always gets the players he wants .
Hope Archie can say the same . By the way , has anybody seen any scrimmaging from the current roster ? If so what did you think of them?

Luke, I highlighted exactly what is causing the negative sentiment in your post. There is not one team with continuity in the A10. There is not a four year, senior laden team that would do damage. This is the problem. And this is year 3 of the problem. We shall see what next year brings, but if it's more of the same, Katy bar the door.

[reef]

Agreed. The sky is falling people are so freakin tiresome. FAU literally just made a final four run. Charleston was the talk of the country for most of the season. Dayton is a couple years removed from a 1 seed. Win games and people will come and tourney invites will be had. It has never been easy for Rhody. Is it a bit more difficult now, sure. But enough with woe is me crap.

Yup this is how I’m feeling , well stated

[Rhody74]

Call me in November.

[NYGFan_Section208]

Just win your games and it IS easy. It's only 'not easy' when you're depending on someone else...then, it's easy to talk about how much they all suck.
But if you just win your games, casual fan doesn't give a ratsy.

[jcru]

How did just win your games work out for the women's side?

[NYGFan_Section208]

How did just win your games work out of the women's side?

Great. Until they didn't?

[jcru]

Just beat out 14 other teams, all projected to be better than you are, "it's easy"!

F.I.F.Y.

[Jersey77]

During this lull period, thought I may take a look at the A10 transfers awaiting waivers and what impact they may have:

David Green/URI - Even though his previous stats and minutes at La Tech and Hofstra don't jump at you, except for maybe his shooting range (35% 3PT), we have been hearing very positive reports about him from practice. Enough so that some feel he make crack the starting line-up or be a significant piece in the rotation. Hopefully he thrives under Archie's system.

Bradley Ezewiro/SLU- Previous 2 stops at P6 schools Georgetown and LSU. Two schools in 2-years, so maybe St. louis turns out to be a good home for him. He started the final 7 games for the Hoyas and his best games were 19 points against PC and 9 rebounds against Marquette. Also for the season he shot 52% FG. As of now if he gets the waiver he starts at center, otherwise SLU will need to start a true freshman recruit, that is of course without any new additions.

Joe Bamisile/ VCU- Three schools in 3 years, Oklahoma, GW, and Va. Tech. We are all pretty familiar with how well he previously performed in the A10, averaged 16 pts (35% 3PT/46% FG) and 5 rebs. If he gets the waiver, yeah, he will be an immediate impact player for VCU. He is returning close to home, so who knows what the NCAA will decide.

Woody Newton/ GM- Previous stops at Oklahoma State and Syracuse. At 6'9" can play the 3 or 4, last season averaged 4.3 pts/ 3.4 rebs starting 13 of 29 games for the Cowboys. If he doesn't receive a waiver no-one will, moved close to home to be near his family after the recent death of his father.

Jalen Haynes/ GM - Played at ETSU and Va. Tech. Would probably be one of the most impactful transfers and better big in the conference. Was All-SoCon playing PF/C averaging 14.6 pts (57.5% FG) and 6.4 rebs. I was surprised Skinn was able to land him along with Maddox, both really good gets for him.

[Jdrums#3]

Good stuff, Jersey.

Ezewiro for SLU is compelling (Haynes at GM, too). SLU with thin depth at the 5 spot.

[Jersey77]

Good stuff, Jersey.

Ezewiro for SLU is compelling (Haynes at GM, too). SLU with thin depth at the 5 spot.

Yes, JD let's see how the NCAA decides. Some of those players I listed could have a major impact on their team's success this season.
But all the coaches were well aware that they may have to sit this year, besides, that had always been the norm for transfers in the past.

[ramster]

Rothstein attended PC Practice. Usually attends URI Practice as he travels to RI. Maybe doesn't stop in Kingston this year??

Comments about PC from his visit yesterday:

• Greetings from New England. Here for Providence practice. Year One of the Kim English era.

• Early prediction on Providence's 2023-24 starting five:
  Jayden Pierre, Corey Floyd, Devin Carter, Bryce Hopkins, Josh Oduro

• Guard play will have a major hand in Providence's potential ceiling. Big opportunities for both Jayden Pierre and Corey Floyd to have expanded roles. Both will be critical pieces in the 401.

• Providence has quality depth at the 5, with three options at center: Josh Oduro (George Mason), Will McNair (Mississippi State), and Rafael Castro. All three are good enough to be in the rotation.

• Garway Dual is a major offensive talent. An effortless scorer who does exceptional work in the mid-range area. Will be one of the best freshmen in the Big East.

• Providence's Bryce Hopkins tells me that he's down 12 pounds since last season. Is noticeably leaner. Looks positioned to have an All-American caliber season in 2023-24.

• Providence's Justyn Fernandez (ACL) "could be cleared in three months", per Kim English.
  English on Fernandez: "I'm not rushing it. I'm fine with him sitting the whole year."
  Fernandez is a transfer from George Mason.

• Providence's Devin Carter (thumb) will not play on the team's foreign tour to Spain later this month, but is expected to ready to go in 3-5 weeks, per Kim English. Averaged 13 PPG and 4.9 RPG last season.

Also from yesterday.......
Kevin McNamara @KevinMcNamara33
Friar defensive whiz/energy guard Devin Carter has a fractured hand, will miss team's 3 games in Spain, back in September, per sources.
Opens door for Ticket Gaines, Corey Floyd, Jr, Garwey Dual, Rich Barron #pcbb

[ramster]

The posts on Keaney Blue this week no matter what the topic is have been increasingly negative about just about everything . do you think we
might wait until the season is in full swing to declare the demise of the A10 ? The truth is nobody knows anything about anything yet . there are some
kinds of ridiculous predictions floating around about how bad URI will be and how the A10 will be a one bid league again and they are all based on
nothing . The player turnover at URI and most other A10 teams tells me that we cannot predict anything for the coming season in the A10 at this
point . Wasn't Davidson picked to finish near the bottom of the A10 in their first season ? The ended up winning the regular season didn't they ?
And why were they predicted to struggle so mightily ? A good guess might be that the media and the coaches surrounding the A10 knew very little about
Davidson and made some false assumptions about their coaches and their talent level . Will all the "The sky is falling " predictions come to pass ?
I don't know , but neither does Rothstein or any of the other hacks that haven't seen one second of one minute of competitive action . Kind of like
the hype around that 4 star forward from Maryland that URI landed a few seasons ago in reverse . What was his name again ? I don't remember . It works both ways . URI has a couple of down seasons and the sharks smell the blood and circle the carcass . I don't really know if Archie was able to
fill his roster with players on the top of his wish lists or not or had to settle for what he could convince to show up after a terrible first season . I hope
he was able to get exactly what he was looking for or a very close approximation of his wish roster . If he was able to bring in his wish list of players then we are going to see a very good product on the court this coming season . I remember what Hurley once said that hhe always gets the players he wants .
Hope Archie can say the same . By the way , has anybody seen any scrimmaging from the current roster ? If so what did you think of them?

Luke, I highlighted exactly what is causing the negative sentiment in your post. There is not one team with continuity in the A10. There is not a four year, senior laden team that would do damage. This is the problem. And this is year 3 of the problem. We shall see what next year brings, but if it's more of the same, Katy bar the door.

In calling A10 being a back to back 1-bid league consider it's not only KB posters:

July ESPN Joe Lunardi Bracketology has A10 1-bid Conference with Dayton AQ and a 11-seed

July CBS Sports Jerry Palm has A10 1-bid Conference also with Dayton a 11-seed and a NET projected of 74

https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story ... -men-field

https://www.cbssports.com/college-baske ... cketology/


Dayton turned down the opportunity to play in the NIT last year after losing to VCU in A10 Championship. Some Dayton fans I talked to at the game were not happy about that.
Was the decision by the players? By the HC? A vote?
At any rate starter Amzil who was 2nd leading scorer vs VCU with 17 transferred to New Mexico. All Rookie team Sharamvants transferred to San Francisco, Camara turned pro and RJ Blakney went in the portal.

[Jersey77]

The posts on Keaney Blue this week no matter what the topic is have been increasingly negative about just about everything . do you think we
might wait until the season is in full swing to declare the demise of the A10 ? The truth is nobody knows anything about anything yet . there are some
kinds of ridiculous predictions floating around about how bad URI will be and how the A10 will be a one bid league again and they are all based on
nothing . The player turnover at URI and most other A10 teams tells me that we cannot predict anything for the coming season in the A10 at this
point . Wasn't Davidson picked to finish near the bottom of the A10 in their first season ? The ended up winning the regular season didn't they ?
And why were they predicted to struggle so mightily ? A good guess might be that the media and the coaches surrounding the A10 knew very little about
Davidson and made some false assumptions about their coaches and their talent level . Will all the "The sky is falling " predictions come to pass ?
I don't know , but neither does Rothstein or any of the other hacks that haven't seen one second of one minute of competitive action . Kind of like
the hype around that 4 star forward from Maryland that URI landed a few seasons ago in reverse . What was his name again ? I don't remember . It works both ways . URI has a couple of down seasons and the sharks smell the blood and circle the carcass . I don't really know if Archie was able to
fill his roster with players on the top of his wish lists or not or had to settle for what he could convince to show up after a terrible first season . I hope
he was able to get exactly what he was looking for or a very close approximation of his wish roster . If he was able to bring in his wish list of players then we are going to see a very good product on the court this coming season . I remember what Hurley once said that hhe always gets the players he wants .
Hope Archie can say the same . By the way , has anybody seen any scrimmaging from the current roster ? If so what did you think of them?

Luke, I highlighted exactly what is causing the negative sentiment in your post. There is not one team with continuity in the A10. There is not a four year, senior laden team that would do damage. This is the problem. And this is year 3 of the problem. We shall see what next year brings, but if it's more of the same, Katy bar the door.

In calling A10 being a back to back 1-bid league consider it's not only KB posters:

July ESPN Joe Lunardi Bracketology has A10 1-bid Conference with Dayton AQ and a 11-seed

July CBS Sports Jerry Palm has A10 1-bid Conference also with Dayton a 11-seed and a NET projected of 74

https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story ... -men-field

https://www.cbssports.com/college-baske ... cketology/


Dayton turned down the opportunity to play in the NIT last year after losing to VCU in A10 Championship. Some Dayton fans I talked to at the game were not happy about that.
Was the decision by the players? By the HC? A vote?
At any rate starter Amzil who was 2nd leading scorer vs VCU with 17 transferred to New Mexico. All Rookie team Sharamvants transferred to San Francisco, Camara turned pro and RJ Blakney went in the portal.

Dayton didn't do a bad job reloading and retained their biggest piece Holmes.

Several analysts have Dayton as pre-season favorites to win the A10.

[ramster]

Luke, I highlighted exactly what is causing the negative sentiment in your post. There is not one team with continuity in the A10. There is not a four year, senior laden team that would do damage. This is the problem. And this is year 3 of the problem. We shall see what next year brings, but if it's more of the same, Katy bar the door.

In calling A10 being a back to back 1-bid league consider it's not only KB posters:

July ESPN Joe Lunardi Bracketology has A10 1-bid Conference with Dayton AQ and a 11-seed

July CBS Sports Jerry Palm has A10 1-bid Conference also with Dayton a 11-seed and a NET projected of 74

https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story ... -men-field

https://www.cbssports.com/college-baske ... cketology/


Dayton turned down the opportunity to play in the NIT last year after losing to VCU in A10 Championship. Some Dayton fans I talked to at the game were not happy about that.
Was the decision by the players? By the HC? A vote?
At any rate starter Amzil who was 2nd leading scorer vs VCU with 17 transferred to New Mexico. All Rookie team Sharamvants transferred to San Francisco, Camara turned pro and RJ Blakney went in the portal.

Dayton didn't do a bad job reloading and retained their biggest piece Holmes.

Several analysts have Dayton as pre-season favorites to win the A10.

Which is what I just said. Joe Lunardi and Jerry palm have Dayton the AQ (Automatic Qualifier) winning the A10 Tournament. Palm has Dayton with a NET 74 which is with winning the AQ. That won't be high enough for an At-Large if the fail to win the A10 tournament.
Dayton lost 4 of their top 7 players in the A10 finals.
Loaded up the brinks truck to keep Holmes.

[reef]

Rothstein attended PC Practice. Usually attends URI Practice as he travels to RI. Maybe doesn't stop in Kingston this year??

Comments about PC from his visit yesterday:

• Greetings from New England. Here for Providence practice. Year One of the Kim English era.

• Early prediction on Providence's 2023-24 starting five:
  Jayden Pierre, Corey Floyd, Devin Carter, Bryce Hopkins, Josh Oduro

• Guard play will have a major hand in Providence's potential ceiling. Big opportunities for both Jayden Pierre and Corey Floyd to have expanded roles. Both will be critical pieces in the 401.

• Providence has quality depth at the 5, with three options at center: Josh Oduro (George Mason), Will McNair (Mississippi State), and Rafael Castro. All three are good enough to be in the rotation.

• Garway Dual is a major offensive talent. An effortless scorer who does exceptional work in the mid-range area. Will be one of the best freshmen in the Big East.

• Providence's Bryce Hopkins tells me that he's down 12 pounds since last season. Is noticeably leaner. Looks positioned to have an All-American caliber season in 2023-24.

• Providence's Justyn Fernandez (ACL) "could be cleared in three months", per Kim English.
  English on Fernandez: "I'm not rushing it. I'm fine with him sitting the whole year."
  Fernandez is a transfer from George Mason.

• Providence's Devin Carter (thumb) will not play on the team's foreign tour to Spain later this month, but is expected to ready to go in 3-5 weeks, per Kim English. Averaged 13 PPG and 4.9 RPG last season.

Also from yesterday.......
Kevin McNamara @KevinMcNamara33
Friar defensive whiz/energy guard Devin Carter has a fractured hand, will miss team's 3 games in Spain, back in September, per sources.
Opens door for Ticket Gaines, Corey Floyd, Jr, Garwey Dual, Rich Barron #pcbb

We are going to have our hands full with these guys on the road

[Blue Man]

In calling A10 being a back to back 1-bid league consider it's not only KB posters:

July ESPN Joe Lunardi Bracketology has A10 1-bid Conference with Dayton AQ and a 11-seed

July CBS Sports Jerry Palm has A10 1-bid Conference also with Dayton a 11-seed and a NET projected of 74

https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story ... -men-field

https://www.cbssports.com/college-baske ... cketology/


Dayton turned down the opportunity to play in the NIT last year after losing to VCU in A10 Championship. Some Dayton fans I talked to at the game were not happy about that.
Was the decision by the players? By the HC? A vote?
At any rate starter Amzil who was 2nd leading scorer vs VCU with 17 transferred to New Mexico. All Rookie team Sharamvants transferred to San Francisco, Camara turned pro and RJ Blakney went in the portal.

Dayton didn't do a bad job reloading and retained their biggest piece Holmes.

Several analysts have Dayton as pre-season favorites to win the A10.

Which is what I just said. Joe Lunardi and Jerry palm have Dayton the AQ (Automatic Qualifier) winning the A10 Tournament. Palm has Dayton with a NET 74 which is with winning the AQ. That won't be high enough for an At-Large if the fail to win the A10 tournament.
Dayton lost 4 of their top 7 players in the A10 finals.
Loaded up the brinks truck to keep Holmes.

Excuse me if I don’t panic because the 98th and 142nd (out of 174) ranked bracketologists don’t feel high on the A10.

All of these dumb preseason predictions are easily refuted by a single google search about how accurate they are, and people still react.

I’m not saying the A10 is going back to a 6 bid league, but we’re a lot closer to a 3 bid than many want to believe. If the top teams don’t suck out loud in the OOC, they will be dancing.

[Jersey77]

Dayton didn't do a bad job reloading and retained their biggest piece Holmes.

Several analysts have Dayton as pre-season favorites to win the A10.

Which is what I just said. Joe Lunardi and Jerry palm have Dayton the AQ (Automatic Qualifier) winning the A10 Tournament. Palm has Dayton with a NET 74 which is with winning the AQ. That won't be high enough for an At-Large if the fail to win the A10 tournament.
Dayton lost 4 of their top 7 players in the A10 finals.
Loaded up the brinks truck to keep Holmes.

Excuse me if I don’t panic because the 98th and 142nd (out of 174) ranked bracketologists don’t feel high on the A10.

All of these dumb preseason predictions are easily refuted by a single google search about how accurate they are, and people still react.

I’m not saying the A10 is going back to a 6 bid league, but we’re a lot closer to a 3 bid than many want to believe. If the top teams don’t suck out loud in the OOC, they will be dancing.

Blue Man I agree with you.

[ramster]

Which is what I just said. Joe Lunardi and Jerry palm have Dayton the AQ (Automatic Qualifier) winning the A10 Tournament. Palm has Dayton with a NET 74 which is with winning the AQ. That won't be high enough for an At-Large if the fail to win the A10 tournament.
Dayton lost 4 of their top 7 players in the A10 finals.
Loaded up the brinks truck to keep Holmes.

Excuse me if I don’t panic because the 98th and 142nd (out of 174) ranked bracketologists don’t feel high on the A10.

All of these dumb preseason predictions are easily refuted by a single google search about how accurate they are, and people still react.

I’m not saying the A10 is going back to a 6 bid league, but we’re a lot closer to a 3 bid than many want to believe. If the top teams don’t suck out loud in the OOC, they will be dancing.

Blue Man I agree with you.

No need to panic. Just win your games. No need to fret over the OOC schedule and the NET if our opponents. Last 5 years 2,2,2,2,1 Bids for the A10. Win the Conference and all is well.
In the last 23 years (this century) how many At-Large A10 bids did URI get?
Archie Miller can win this Conference. He doesn't need the At-Large bid worries that the NCAA doesn't want any Mid Majors getting and that he really can't control. NCAA doesn't want Mid Major At-Large bids especially at the expense of any of its P5 Teams sitting at home.
Just focus on winning the AQ
The winners of AT Large bids in the past are gravitating towards the P5's. Houston, Brigham Young, Central Florida and Cincinnati. P5's are gobbling up the best of the Mid Majors - as long as they gave FBS Football Programs.

[steveystuds06]

I think you want to build the best possible resume, period. You also want to win the A10 tournament because that helps your resume. The goal is to land the highest bid. This idea that we should have a bad schedule and not care about any game until the A10 tournament is outrageous to me. Teams in horrible conferences that win the AQ end up being 15 and 16 seeds and usually get smoked. We don't want that at all.

We need our top teams to schedule a strong nonconference and hope they pull out some wins. St. Louis did that, but they underachieved. Dayton did as well, but that Bahamas trip was brutal. They had two heartbreaking losses in that tournament against Wisconsin and BYU... Some of our biggest at-large resume-building wins were incredibly close to being losses. What if there wasn't a backcourt violation, and Terrell didn't hit that hail-mary shot against Seton Hall? What if EC didn't hit that corner 3 against Cincy? Many times for A10 teams, it's just a matter of a few plays that make or break your at-large chances, and if they don't break our way one year, that doesn't mean we are now a one-bid league. Our top teams were still in the mix to land a bid last year, just like us when we were at the top of the A10 a few years ago.

The A10 will be fine and will still land 2 bids most seasons.

[Jersey77]

Dick Vitale has DaRon Holmes 2nd team All-American.
Tyler Kolek 1st team All- American.

"Dick Vitale's preseason men's All-America teams"
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-baske ... rica-teams

[ramster]

Dick Vitale has DaRon Holmes 2nd team All-American.
Tyler Kolek 1st team All- American.

"Dick Vitale's preseason men's All-America teams"
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-baske ... rica-teams

But where does Vitale rank as compared to Joe Lunardi and Jerry Palm? How are his credentials?

[ramster]

Which is what I just said. Joe Lunardi and Jerry palm have Dayton the AQ (Automatic Qualifier) winning the A10 Tournament. Palm has Dayton with a NET 74 which is with winning the AQ. That won't be high enough for an At-Large if the fail to win the A10 tournament.
Dayton lost 4 of their top 7 players in the A10 finals.
Loaded up the brinks truck to keep Holmes.

Excuse me if I don’t panic because the 98th and 142nd (out of 174) ranked bracketologists don’t feel high on the A10.

All of these dumb preseason predictions are easily refuted by a single google search about how accurate they are, and people still react.

I’m not saying the A10 is going back to a 6 bid league, but we’re a lot closer to a 3 bid than many want to believe. If the top teams don’t suck out loud in the OOC, they will be dancing.

Blue Man I agree with you.

What ranking are you using for Lunardi and Palm?

Last 3 bid A10 league used the RPI which was and continues to be much more favorable to the A10. Tough task to get the NET necessary for a At Large bid these days.

[Jersey77]

Dick Vitale has DaRon Holmes 2nd team All-American.
Tyler Kolek 1st team All- American.

"Dick Vitale's preseason men's All-America teams"
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-baske ... rica-teams

But where does Vitale rank as compared to Joe Lunardi and Jerry Palm? How are his credentials?

Who knows how accurate Dick will be, but we all like him and he is credible.

[ramster]

Dick Vitale has DaRon Holmes 2nd team All-American.
Tyler Kolek 1st team All- American.

"Dick Vitale's preseason men's All-America teams"
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-baske ... rica-teams

But where does Vitale rank as compared to Joe Lunardi and Jerry Palm? How are his credentials?

Who knows how accurate Dick will be, but we all like him and he is credible.

So accuracy of Palm and Lunardi matters because people don't like them, but if everyone liked Palm annd Lunardi accuracy wouldn't matter? Hard to keep up here.

[reef]

Dick Vitale has DaRon Holmes 2nd team All-American.
Tyler Kolek 1st team All- American.

"Dick Vitale's preseason men's All-America teams"
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-baske ... rica-teams

Wow and we have to deal with Holmes this season , I hope our bigs can hold their own Vs him

[RhodyKyle]

But where does Vitale rank as compared to Joe Lunardi and Jerry Palm? How are his credentials?

Who knows how accurate Dick will be, but we all like him and he is credible.

So accuracy of Palm and Lunardi matters because people don't like them, but if everyone liked Palm annd Lunardi accuracy wouldn't matter? Hard to keep up here.

Is this an apples to oranges thing? One is listing their opinions on AA teams and the others are predicting a field of 68 using their own analytical models.

[Blue Man]

Excuse me if I don’t panic because the 98th and 142nd (out of 174) ranked bracketologists don’t feel high on the A10.

All of these dumb preseason predictions are easily refuted by a single google search about how accurate they are, and people still react.

I’m not saying the A10 is going back to a 6 bid league, but we’re a lot closer to a 3 bid than many want to believe. If the top teams don’t suck out loud in the OOC, they will be dancing.

Blue Man I agree with you.

No need to panic. Just win your games. No need to fret over the OOC schedule and the NET if our opponents. Last 5 years 2,2,2,2,1 Bids for the A10. Win the Conference and all is well.
In the last 23 years (this century) how many At-Large A10 bids did URI get?
Archie Miller can win this Conference. He doesn't need the At-Large bid worries that the NCAA doesn't want any Mid Majors getting and that he really can't control. NCAA doesn't want Mid Major At-Large bids especially at the expense of any of its P5 Teams sitting at home.
Just focus on winning the AQ
The winners of AT Large bids in the past are gravitating towards the P5's. Houston, Brigham Young, Central Florida and Cincinnati. P5's are gobbling up the best of the Mid Majors - as long as they gave FBS Football Programs.

Control what we can control - and that goes for St Louis, Dayton, VCU, Richmond, and us. We don't have FBS football. But collectively, I look at these 5 teams as being in the upper echelon of A10 teams without D1 football that have the combination of investment, expectations, and fan support to be in that top tier of bubble teams year in and year out.

Gonzaga doesn't have FBS football, but what they do have is a conference who tilted the scales for NCAA credits to reward the teams that win. Hence why they have stayed put.

The A10 should be aggressively pursuing such a model so that the current teams don't have such an easy financial decision to leave. The P5 schools go on a 50% split because plenty of them get in year in/year out. The A10 doesn't have that advantage.

In the last 8 years (ignoring covid and since Butler/X left), 10 teams have gone to the NCAA 26 times.

7 teams have gone 2 or more. That's less than half the conference. That half the conference is splitting 50% of the revenue they earn with a bunch of teams that haven't contributed a single penny to the conference coffers - many in a decade or more, some not at all. On top of that, those teams not contributing are actively punishing the good teams by sinking their bid/seeding chances, and their opportunities to get a more favorable draw in the dance.

If battle axe bernedette isn't going to kick the trash teams out and start anew, then she should actively work to put greater incentives to the teams that bring in the money.

The fact that we don't have any type of conference challenge with top teams in the American or Mountain West (like we were supposedly going to), or don't give a greater percentage of NCAA money to the schools that win - what is going to keep a Dayton or VCU or St Louis from jumping? Adding Loyola?

The A10 has always been "different" - not quite a P5, not quite a mid-major. Yet we refuse to act in any deliberate way to separate ourselves. Conferences are doing flex scheduling to keep their top teams in bubble contention. The WCC is doing more in credit payout. The A10 is adding Loyola. Yippee.

[Blue Man]

Excuse me if I don’t panic because the 98th and 142nd (out of 174) ranked bracketologists don’t feel high on the A10.

All of these dumb preseason predictions are easily refuted by a single google search about how accurate they are, and people still react.

I’m not saying the A10 is going back to a 6 bid league, but we’re a lot closer to a 3 bid than many want to believe. If the top teams don’t suck out loud in the OOC, they will be dancing.

Blue Man I agree with you.

What ranking are you using for Lunardi and Palm?

Last 3 bid A10 league used the RPI which was and continues to be much more favorable to the A10. Tough task to get the NET necessary for a At Large bid these days.

http://www.bracketmatrix.com/rankings.html

The only site that does I believe.

And bleacher report is literally just a site for fans to write. I wrote bleacher report articles in college literally talking about how THIS would be the year that is different and that URI was going dancing. Not really a trustworthy source

[Jersey77]

Blue Man I agree with you.

No need to panic. Just win your games. No need to fret over the OOC schedule and the NET if our opponents. Last 5 years 2,2,2,2,1 Bids for the A10. Win the Conference and all is well.
In the last 23 years (this century) how many At-Large A10 bids did URI get?
Archie Miller can win this Conference. He doesn't need the At-Large bid worries that the NCAA doesn't want any Mid Majors getting and that he really can't control. NCAA doesn't want Mid Major At-Large bids especially at the expense of any of its P5 Teams sitting at home.
Just focus on winning the AQ
The winners of AT Large bids in the past are gravitating towards the P5's. Houston, Brigham Young, Central Florida and Cincinnati. P5's are gobbling up the best of the Mid Majors - as long as they gave FBS Football Programs.

Control what we can control - and that goes for St Louis, Dayton, VCU, Richmond, and us. We don't have FBS football. But collectively, I look at these 5 teams as being in the upper echelon of A10 teams without D1 football that have the combination of investment, expectations, and fan support to be in that top tier of bubble teams year in and year out.

Gonzaga doesn't have FBS football, but what they do have is a conference who tilted the scales for NCAA credits to reward the teams that win. Hence why they have stayed put.

The A10 should be aggressively pursuing such a model so that the current teams don't have such an easy financial decision to leave. The P5 schools go on a 50% split because plenty of them get in year in/year out. The A10 doesn't have that advantage.

In the last 8 years (ignoring covid and since Butler/X left), 10 teams have gone to the NCAA 26 times.

7 teams have gone 2 or more. That's less than half the conference. That half the conference is splitting 50% of the revenue they earn with a bunch of teams that haven't contributed a single penny to the conference coffers - many in a decade or more, some not at all. On top of that, those teams not contributing are actively punishing the good teams by sinking their bid/seeding chances, and their opportunities to get a more favorable draw in the dance.

If battle axe bernedette isn't going to kick the trash teams out and start anew, then she should actively work to put greater incentives to the teams that bring in the money.

The fact that we don't have any type of conference challenge with top teams in the American or Mountain West (like we were supposedly going to), or don't give a greater percentage of NCAA money to the schools that win - what is going to keep a Dayton or VCU or St Louis from jumping? Adding Loyola?

The A10 has always been "different" - not quite a P5, not quite a mid-major. Yet we refuse to act in any deliberate way to separate ourselves. Conferences are doing flex scheduling to keep their top teams in bubble contention. The WCC is doing more in credit payout. The A10 is adding Loyola. Yippee.

If VCU, SLU, or Dayton get an invite from the BE they are gone, no matter what the A10 can do to convince them to stay. Can't even compare these programs to Gonzaga who already has a huge name brand and marketability and gets the top recruits and transfers.

McGlade doesn't have the authority to just kick teams out, not even sure the conference is even allowed to under the current by-laws, probably only if these teams commit serious NCAA violations.

The president's council votes on how the money is to be divided.

Remember under her leadership the conference also added VCU and Davidson, both excellent additions.
George Mason did struggle under the past 2 coaches prior to English.
English did seem to have them on the right path and were a top 5 team last season.
The last 3 years they also finished ahead of URI.
English did impress enough that PC hired him as their coach.
Also many feel Skinn was a good hire and is doing a nice job rebuilding the roster.

Don't throw Valentine or Loyola under the bus after just their first season in the A10 and after going through a roster rebuild. We are willing to give Archie a pass after his first season here and rightfully so.
Loyola also has had more recent and bigger success than us.
Way too early to make a determination on how it all works out.

[Blue Man]

No need to panic. Just win your games. No need to fret over the OOC schedule and the NET if our opponents. Last 5 years 2,2,2,2,1 Bids for the A10. Win the Conference and all is well.
In the last 23 years (this century) how many At-Large A10 bids did URI get?
Archie Miller can win this Conference. He doesn't need the At-Large bid worries that the NCAA doesn't want any Mid Majors getting and that he really can't control. NCAA doesn't want Mid Major At-Large bids especially at the expense of any of its P5 Teams sitting at home.
Just focus on winning the AQ
The winners of AT Large bids in the past are gravitating towards the P5's. Houston, Brigham Young, Central Florida and Cincinnati. P5's are gobbling up the best of the Mid Majors - as long as they gave FBS Football Programs.

Control what we can control - and that goes for St Louis, Dayton, VCU, Richmond, and us. We don't have FBS football. But collectively, I look at these 5 teams as being in the upper echelon of A10 teams without D1 football that have the combination of investment, expectations, and fan support to be in that top tier of bubble teams year in and year out.

Gonzaga doesn't have FBS football, but what they do have is a conference who tilted the scales for NCAA credits to reward the teams that win. Hence why they have stayed put.

The A10 should be aggressively pursuing such a model so that the current teams don't have such an easy financial decision to leave. The P5 schools go on a 50% split because plenty of them get in year in/year out. The A10 doesn't have that advantage.

In the last 8 years (ignoring covid and since Butler/X left), 10 teams have gone to the NCAA 26 times.

7 teams have gone 2 or more. That's less than half the conference. That half the conference is splitting 50% of the revenue they earn with a bunch of teams that haven't contributed a single penny to the conference coffers - many in a decade or more, some not at all. On top of that, those teams not contributing are actively punishing the good teams by sinking their bid/seeding chances, and their opportunities to get a more favorable draw in the dance.

If battle axe bernedette isn't going to kick the trash teams out and start anew, then she should actively work to put greater incentives to the teams that bring in the money.

The fact that we don't have any type of conference challenge with top teams in the American or Mountain West (like we were supposedly going to), or don't give a greater percentage of NCAA money to the schools that win - what is going to keep a Dayton or VCU or St Louis from jumping? Adding Loyola?

The A10 has always been "different" - not quite a P5, not quite a mid-major. Yet we refuse to act in any deliberate way to separate ourselves. Conferences are doing flex scheduling to keep their top teams in bubble contention. The WCC is doing more in credit payout. The A10 is adding Loyola. Yippee.

If VCU, SLU, or Dayton get an invite from the BE they are gone, no matter what the A10 can do to convince them to stay. Can't even compare these programs to Gonzaga who already has a huge name brand and marketability and gets the top recruits and transfers.

McGlade doesn't have the authority to just kick teams out, not even sure the conference is even allowed to under the current by-laws, probably only if these teams commit serious NCAA violations.

The president's council votes on how the money is to be divided.

Remember under her leadership the conference also added VCU and Davidson, both excellent additions.
George Mason did struggle under the past 2 coaches prior to English.
English did seem to have them on the right path and were a top 5 team last season.
The last 3 years they also finished ahead of URI.
English did impress enough that PC hired him as their coach.
Also many feel Skinn was a good hire and is doing a nice job rebuilding the roster.

Don't throw Valentine or Loyola under the bus after just their first season in the A10 and after going through a roster rebuild. We are willing to give Archie a pass after his first season here and rightfully so.
Loyola also has had more recent and bigger success than us.
Way too early to make a determination on how it all works out.

And under McGlade we also lost Xavier and Butler when the Big East had nothing.

I'd argue losing Xavier was a worse loss than VCU was a gain. But we had both at the same time, it's not like one replaced the other. A bag was fumbled here. Davidson was a good addition, nowhere near what VCU has been, but obviously better than most of the conference since they're 1 of 7 teams to contribute to our NCAA fund within the last 7 years. They have an old multipurpose arena and God only knows what they'll do without Bob McKillop.

We had a real chance to become something seriously great as a conference in 2013 - and McGlade couldn't sell it. Or worse, have a vision to split the conference or retain it's prominent members, or work something out with all the uncertainty that existed in the pre-new big east times.

Since then we've been completely in decline. Under McGlade we've added: VCU, George Mason, Davidson, and Loyola.

We've lost: Butler, Charlotte, Temple, and Xavier. We have lost far more than we have gained.

How do you not put a tougher exit fee structure in place than TWO MILLION? That's all. After 1 year Butler had to pay $2M because they didn't give 1 year's notice of leaving.

By comparison, UConn owes the Big East $30 million if they leave any time before 2025.

This is a small time league with small time management and direction.

As for the teams: George Mason doesn't get a pass because they found a way to finish 5th in the worst A10 season of our lifetimes. They still suck. They've sucked since they got here. English could've finished anywhere with his team and been hired at PC because Rick Barnes recommended him.

I am not giving Drew Valentine a pass because a) anyone with a brain could've seen that Loyola is and has always been a team that benefitted from playing in a terrible conference and the 2 times they danced in 4 years they got a favorable draw. b) Valentine's is a story as old as time in college basketball - take what the previous guy did, have a good year building off of their system and players, and then suck when you're on your own.

See Ollie, Kevin; Cox, David, for recent and regional examples.

Archie gets a pass for his first year because:

a) he was out of the game with zero pipeline for over a year. Valentine slotted over from the assistant chair at the same school. I didn't give Dave Cox a pass, I said he was cooked and over his head in December of year 1.
b) he's shown he can win, win at a high level, and do it multiple times in the recent past at our level and above. Valentine is a first time HC. Like Cox or Kevin Ollie.

NIL or not basketball players don't want to go to Loyola. Chicago in the wintertime, tiny school with rigid academic standards. They were a bad add period.

[Jersey77]

Control what we can control - and that goes for St Louis, Dayton, VCU, Richmond, and us. We don't have FBS football. But collectively, I look at these 5 teams as being in the upper echelon of A10 teams without D1 football that have the combination of investment, expectations, and fan support to be in that top tier of bubble teams year in and year out.

Gonzaga doesn't have FBS football, but what they do have is a conference who tilted the scales for NCAA credits to reward the teams that win. Hence why they have stayed put.

The A10 should be aggressively pursuing such a model so that the current teams don't have such an easy financial decision to leave. The P5 schools go on a 50% split because plenty of them get in year in/year out. The A10 doesn't have that advantage.

In the last 8 years (ignoring covid and since Butler/X left), 10 teams have gone to the NCAA 26 times.

7 teams have gone 2 or more. That's less than half the conference. That half the conference is splitting 50% of the revenue they earn with a bunch of teams that haven't contributed a single penny to the conference coffers - many in a decade or more, some not at all. On top of that, those teams not contributing are actively punishing the good teams by sinking their bid/seeding chances, and their opportunities to get a more favorable draw in the dance.

If battle axe bernedette isn't going to kick the trash teams out and start anew, then she should actively work to put greater incentives to the teams that bring in the money.

The fact that we don't have any type of conference challenge with top teams in the American or Mountain West (like we were supposedly going to), or don't give a greater percentage of NCAA money to the schools that win - what is going to keep a Dayton or VCU or St Louis from jumping? Adding Loyola?

The A10 has always been "different" - not quite a P5, not quite a mid-major. Yet we refuse to act in any deliberate way to separate ourselves. Conferences are doing flex scheduling to keep their top teams in bubble contention. The WCC is doing more in credit payout. The A10 is adding Loyola. Yippee.

If VCU, SLU, or Dayton get an invite from the BE they are gone, no matter what the A10 can do to convince them to stay. Can't even compare these programs to Gonzaga who already has a huge name brand and marketability and gets the top recruits and transfers.

McGlade doesn't have the authority to just kick teams out, not even sure the conference is even allowed to under the current by-laws, probably only if these teams commit serious NCAA violations.

The president's council votes on how the money is to be divided.

Remember under her leadership the conference also added VCU and Davidson, both excellent additions.
George Mason did struggle under the past 2 coaches prior to English.
English did seem to have them on the right path and were a top 5 team last season.
The last 3 years they also finished ahead of URI.
English did impress enough that PC hired him as their coach.
Also many feel Skinn was a good hire and is doing a nice job rebuilding the roster.

Don't throw Valentine or Loyola under the bus after just their first season in the A10 and after going through a roster rebuild. We are willing to give Archie a pass after his first season here and rightfully so.
Loyola also has had more recent and bigger success than us.
Way too early to make a determination on how it all works out.

And under McGlade we also lost Xavier and Butler when the Big East had nothing.

I'd argue losing Xavier was a worse loss than VCU was a gain. But we had both at the same time, it's not like one replaced the other. A bag was fumbled here. Davidson was a good addition, nowhere near what VCU has been, but obviously better than most of the conference since they're 1 of 7 teams to contribute to our NCAA fund within the last 7 years. They have an old multipurpose arena and God only knows what they'll do without Bob McKillop.

We had a real chance to become something seriously great as a conference in 2013 - and McGlade couldn't sell it. Or worse, have a vision to split the conference or retain it's prominent members, or work something out with all the uncertainty that existed in the pre-new big east times.

Since then we've been completely in decline. Under McGlade we've added: VCU, George Mason, Davidson, and Loyola.

We've lost: Butler, Charlotte, Temple, and Xavier. We have lost far more than we have gained.

How do you not put a tougher exit fee structure in place than TWO MILLION? That's all. After 1 year Butler had to pay $2M because they didn't give 1 year's notice of leaving.

By comparison, UConn owes the Big East $30 million if they leave any time before 2025.

This is a small time league with small time management and direction.

As for the teams: George Mason doesn't get a pass because they found a way to finish 5th in the worst A10 season of our lifetimes. They still suck. They've sucked since they got here. English could've finished anywhere with his team and been hired at PC because Rick Barnes recommended him.

I am not giving Drew Valentine a pass because a) anyone with a brain could've seen that Loyola is and has always been a team that benefitted from playing in a terrible conference and the 2 times they danced in 4 years they got a favorable draw. b) Valentine's is a story as old as time in college basketball - take what the previous guy did, have a good year building off of their system and players, and then suck when you're on your own.

See Ollie, Kevin; Cox, David, for recent and regional examples.

Archie gets a pass for his first year because:

a) he was out of the game with zero pipeline for over a year. Valentine slotted over from the assistant chair at the same school. I didn't give Dave Cox a pass, I said he was cooked and over his head in December of year 1.
b) he's shown he can win, win at a high level, and do it multiple times in the recent past at our level and above. Valentine is a first time HC. Like Cox or Kevin Ollie.

NIL or not basketball players don't want to go to Loyola. Chicago in the wintertime, tiny school with rigid academic standards. They were a bad add period.

Of course the loses have outweighed the gains, no shock.
Creighton (MVC), Xavier, and Butler all left for the Catholic 7 because of the huge opportunity and that conference was a good fit for their profile.
Temple's leaving had much to do with football.
Wouldn't be surprised to see some other schools leave if the right opportunity comes along.
The fact that the BE is poaching the A10 shows that we have some strong programs.

Don't agree about Loyola always sucking:
21-22- Regular season beat Arizona State and San Francisco, lost by only 2pts to Michigan State.
20-21- Beat Ga. Tech and Illinois in the NCAAT
18-19- Beat Florida
17-18- NCAAT beat Miami, Tennessee, Nevada, and K-State.
If that is sucking sign me up.

I don't understand after finishing 10th, 11th, and 14th why some here are so worked up about the conference administration.
I think we should be more concerned about getting our program back on a winning track.

[steveystuds06]

Blue Man I agree with you.

What ranking are you using for Lunardi and Palm?

Last 3 bid A10 league used the RPI which was and continues to be much more favorable to the A10. Tough task to get the NET necessary for a At Large bid these days.

http://www.bracketmatrix.com/rankings.html

The only site that does I believe.

And bleacher report is literally just a site for fans to write. I wrote bleacher report articles in college literally talking about how THIS would be the year that is different and that URI was going dancing. Not really a trustworthy source

Ya Palm and Lunardi are good at what they do they just aren't as good as some of the best bracketologists out there.. Bracket Matrix is my go too for updated bracketology they do a great job.

[Jersey77]

If VCU, SLU, or Dayton get an invite from the BE they are gone, no matter what the A10 can do to convince them to stay. Can't even compare these programs to Gonzaga who already has a huge name brand and marketability and gets the top recruits and transfers.

McGlade doesn't have the authority to just kick teams out, not even sure the conference is even allowed to under the current by-laws, probably only if these teams commit serious NCAA violations.

The president's council votes on how the money is to be divided.

Remember under her leadership the conference also added VCU and Davidson, both excellent additions.
George Mason did struggle under the past 2 coaches prior to English.
English did seem to have them on the right path and were a top 5 team last season.
The last 3 years they also finished ahead of URI.
English did impress enough that PC hired him as their coach.
Also many feel Skinn was a good hire and is doing a nice job rebuilding the roster.

Don't throw Valentine or Loyola under the bus after just their first season in the A10 and after going through a roster rebuild. We are willing to give Archie a pass after his first season here and rightfully so.
Loyola also has had more recent and bigger success than us.
Way too early to make a determination on how it all works out.

And under McGlade we also lost Xavier and Butler when the Big East had nothing.

I'd argue losing Xavier was a worse loss than VCU was a gain. But we had both at the same time, it's not like one replaced the other. A bag was fumbled here. Davidson was a good addition, nowhere near what VCU has been, but obviously better than most of the conference since they're 1 of 7 teams to contribute to our NCAA fund within the last 7 years. They have an old multipurpose arena and God only knows what they'll do without Bob McKillop.

We had a real chance to become something seriously great as a conference in 2013 - and McGlade couldn't sell it. Or worse, have a vision to split the conference or retain it's prominent members, or work something out with all the uncertainty that existed in the pre-new big east times.

Since then we've been completely in decline. Under McGlade we've added: VCU, George Mason, Davidson, and Loyola.

We've lost: Butler, Charlotte, Temple, and Xavier. We have lost far more than we have gained.

How do you not put a tougher exit fee structure in place than TWO MILLION? That's all. After 1 year Butler had to pay $2M because they didn't give 1 year's notice of leaving.

By comparison, UConn owes the Big East $30 million if they leave any time before 2025.

This is a small time league with small time management and direction.

As for the teams: George Mason doesn't get a pass because they found a way to finish 5th in the worst A10 season of our lifetimes. They still suck. They've sucked since they got here. English could've finished anywhere with his team and been hired at PC because Rick Barnes recommended him.

I am not giving Drew Valentine a pass because a) anyone with a brain could've seen that Loyola is and has always been a team that benefitted from playing in a terrible conference and the 2 times they danced in 4 years they got a favorable draw. b) Valentine's is a story as old as time in college basketball - take what the previous guy did, have a good year building off of their system and players, and then suck when you're on your own.

See Ollie, Kevin; Cox, David, for recent and regional examples.

Archie gets a pass for his first year because:

a) he was out of the game with zero pipeline for over a year. Valentine slotted over from the assistant chair at the same school. I didn't give Dave Cox a pass, I said he was cooked and over his head in December of year 1.
b) he's shown he can win, win at a high level, and do it multiple times in the recent past at our level and above. Valentine is a first time HC. Like Cox or Kevin Ollie.

NIL or not basketball players don't want to go to Loyola. Chicago in the wintertime, tiny school with rigid academic standards. They were a bad add period.

Of course the loses have outweighed the gains, no shock.
Creighton (MVC), Xavier, and Butler all left for the Catholic 7 because of the huge opportunity and that conference was a good fit for their profile.
Temple's leaving had much to do with football.
Wouldn't be surprised to see some other schools leave if the right opportunity comes along.
The fact that the BE is poaching the A10 shows that we have some strong programs.

Don't agree about Loyola always sucking:
21-22- Regular season beat Arizona State and San Francisco, lost by only 2pts to Michigan State.
20-21- Beat Ga. Tech and Illinois in the NCAAT
18-19- Beat Florida
17-18- NCAAT beat Miami, Tennessee, Nevada, and K-State.
If that is sucking sign me up.

I don't understand after finishing 10th, 11th, and 14th why some here are so worked up about the conference administration.
I think we should be more concerned about getting our program back on a winning track.

In addition, what makes you think raising the exit fee would even get approved by the members?
Also, how do you know if that wasn't even already discussed?

[Blue Man]

If VCU, SLU, or Dayton get an invite from the BE they are gone, no matter what the A10 can do to convince them to stay. Can't even compare these programs to Gonzaga who already has a huge name brand and marketability and gets the top recruits and transfers.

McGlade doesn't have the authority to just kick teams out, not even sure the conference is even allowed to under the current by-laws, probably only if these teams commit serious NCAA violations.

The president's council votes on how the money is to be divided.

Remember under her leadership the conference also added VCU and Davidson, both excellent additions.
George Mason did struggle under the past 2 coaches prior to English.
English did seem to have them on the right path and were a top 5 team last season.
The last 3 years they also finished ahead of URI.
English did impress enough that PC hired him as their coach.
Also many feel Skinn was a good hire and is doing a nice job rebuilding the roster.

Don't throw Valentine or Loyola under the bus after just their first season in the A10 and after going through a roster rebuild. We are willing to give Archie a pass after his first season here and rightfully so.
Loyola also has had more recent and bigger success than us.
Way too early to make a determination on how it all works out.

And under McGlade we also lost Xavier and Butler when the Big East had nothing.

I'd argue losing Xavier was a worse loss than VCU was a gain. But we had both at the same time, it's not like one replaced the other. A bag was fumbled here. Davidson was a good addition, nowhere near what VCU has been, but obviously better than most of the conference since they're 1 of 7 teams to contribute to our NCAA fund within the last 7 years. They have an old multipurpose arena and God only knows what they'll do without Bob McKillop.

We had a real chance to become something seriously great as a conference in 2013 - and McGlade couldn't sell it. Or worse, have a vision to split the conference or retain it's prominent members, or work something out with all the uncertainty that existed in the pre-new big east times.

Since then we've been completely in decline. Under McGlade we've added: VCU, George Mason, Davidson, and Loyola.

We've lost: Butler, Charlotte, Temple, and Xavier. We have lost far more than we have gained.

How do you not put a tougher exit fee structure in place than TWO MILLION? That's all. After 1 year Butler had to pay $2M because they didn't give 1 year's notice of leaving.

By comparison, UConn owes the Big East $30 million if they leave any time before 2025.

This is a small time league with small time management and direction.

As for the teams: George Mason doesn't get a pass because they found a way to finish 5th in the worst A10 season of our lifetimes. They still suck. They've sucked since they got here. English could've finished anywhere with his team and been hired at PC because Rick Barnes recommended him.

I am not giving Drew Valentine a pass because a) anyone with a brain could've seen that Loyola is and has always been a team that benefitted from playing in a terrible conference and the 2 times they danced in 4 years they got a favorable draw. b) Valentine's is a story as old as time in college basketball - take what the previous guy did, have a good year building off of their system and players, and then suck when you're on your own.

See Ollie, Kevin; Cox, David, for recent and regional examples.

Archie gets a pass for his first year because:

a) he was out of the game with zero pipeline for over a year. Valentine slotted over from the assistant chair at the same school. I didn't give Dave Cox a pass, I said he was cooked and over his head in December of year 1.
b) he's shown he can win, win at a high level, and do it multiple times in the recent past at our level and above. Valentine is a first time HC. Like Cox or Kevin Ollie.

NIL or not basketball players don't want to go to Loyola. Chicago in the wintertime, tiny school with rigid academic standards. They were a bad add period.

Of course the loses have outweighed the gains, no shock.
Creighton, Xavier, and Butler all left for the Catholic 7 because of the huge opportunity and that conference was a good fit for their profile.
Temple's leaving had much to do with football.
Wouldn't be surprised to see some other schools leave if the right opportunity comes along.
The fact that the BE is poaching the A10 shows that we have some strong programs.

Don't agree about Loyola always sucking:
21-22- Regular season beat Arizona State and San Francisco, lost by only 2pts to Michigan State.
20-21- Beat Ga. Tech and Illinois in the NCAAT
18-19- Beat Florida
17-18- NCAAT beat Miami, Tennessee, Nevada, and K-State.
If that is sucking sign me up.

I don't understand after finishing 10th, 11th, and 14th why some here are so worked up about the conference administration.
I think we should be more concerned about getting our program back on a winning track.

The BE poaching the A10 shows that we HAD some strong programs. The committee won't add points to anyone's NET because the A10 used to be a good conference. I agree that we were too. Just that incompetent leadership lost those good programs.

Isolated games don't mean anything. With a loaded team in a bad conference they went to 2 dances in 4 years. Then Valentine rode the Moser wave for one more year before a first round exit. Then he went 6-6 in the OOC, jumped to a competitive conference and looked hilariously bad. And despite the 3 tourneys in 5 years - they hadn't been to a dance in 32 years before that and only SEVEN winning seasons. So yes, they've always been bad minus a brief period in the sun.

Of course, any one of us would sign up for 3/5 NCAA's. The preference would be to finally build a program that does that rather routinely or better. Considering that's happened a grand total of once in their history (we're not pretending that a 22 team NCAA tourney win is any measure of modern success), and their coach that was the architect is gone, I'll say they were a mid-major and they bring our conference closer to a one bid league than an aspiring multi-bid one.

And I think, especially in the off-season, we're capable of worrying about our own winning woes and the conference that we're playing in simultaneously.

[Blue Man]

And under McGlade we also lost Xavier and Butler when the Big East had nothing.

I'd argue losing Xavier was a worse loss than VCU was a gain. But we had both at the same time, it's not like one replaced the other. A bag was fumbled here. Davidson was a good addition, nowhere near what VCU has been, but obviously better than most of the conference since they're 1 of 7 teams to contribute to our NCAA fund within the last 7 years. They have an old multipurpose arena and God only knows what they'll do without Bob McKillop.

We had a real chance to become something seriously great as a conference in 2013 - and McGlade couldn't sell it. Or worse, have a vision to split the conference or retain it's prominent members, or work something out with all the uncertainty that existed in the pre-new big east times.

Since then we've been completely in decline. Under McGlade we've added: VCU, George Mason, Davidson, and Loyola.

We've lost: Butler, Charlotte, Temple, and Xavier. We have lost far more than we have gained.

How do you not put a tougher exit fee structure in place than TWO MILLION? That's all. After 1 year Butler had to pay $2M because they didn't give 1 year's notice of leaving.

By comparison, UConn owes the Big East $30 million if they leave any time before 2025.

This is a small time league with small time management and direction.

As for the teams: George Mason doesn't get a pass because they found a way to finish 5th in the worst A10 season of our lifetimes. They still suck. They've sucked since they got here. English could've finished anywhere with his team and been hired at PC because Rick Barnes recommended him.

I am not giving Drew Valentine a pass because a) anyone with a brain could've seen that Loyola is and has always been a team that benefitted from playing in a terrible conference and the 2 times they danced in 4 years they got a favorable draw. b) Valentine's is a story as old as time in college basketball - take what the previous guy did, have a good year building off of their system and players, and then suck when you're on your own.

See Ollie, Kevin; Cox, David, for recent and regional examples.

Archie gets a pass for his first year because:

a) he was out of the game with zero pipeline for over a year. Valentine slotted over from the assistant chair at the same school. I didn't give Dave Cox a pass, I said he was cooked and over his head in December of year 1.
b) he's shown he can win, win at a high level, and do it multiple times in the recent past at our level and above. Valentine is a first time HC. Like Cox or Kevin Ollie.

NIL or not basketball players don't want to go to Loyola. Chicago in the wintertime, tiny school with rigid academic standards. They were a bad add period.

Of course the loses have outweighed the gains, no shock.
Creighton (MVC), Xavier, and Butler all left for the Catholic 7 because of the huge opportunity and that conference was a good fit for their profile.
Temple's leaving had much to do with football.
Wouldn't be surprised to see some other schools leave if the right opportunity comes along.
The fact that the BE is poaching the A10 shows that we have some strong programs.

Don't agree about Loyola always sucking:
21-22- Regular season beat Arizona State and San Francisco, lost by only 2pts to Michigan State.
20-21- Beat Ga. Tech and Illinois in the NCAAT
18-19- Beat Florida
17-18- NCAAT beat Miami, Tennessee, Nevada, and K-State.
If that is sucking sign me up.

I don't understand after finishing 10th, 11th, and 14th why some here are so worked up about the conference administration.
I think we should be more concerned about getting our program back on a winning track.

In addition, what makes you think raising the exit fee would even get approved by the members?
Also, how do you know if that wasn't even already discussed?

I don't know. But what I do know is that leaders are judged on their results. Not on what they tried/didn't try to get done and failed at.