Bull. The job is as attractive as it has ever been-----for the right coach. You don't need a coach that fits the conference you need a good coach/salesman who is willing to work his a** off recruiting. Screw that maximizing us in the conference #####. You recruit the best players you can get. The problem with Sodaberger was he set his sights too low. He recruited to be mediocre in the conference. He ignored junior college players, top 100 players, players from outside the Midwest, etc. A recipe for disaster. A good recruiter has to sell himself, the city of St. Louis, the University and the New Arena. This isn't high school basketball where you have new players coming in every year. You have to go out and get your own players. You have to get out there and sell yourself and the program. Ask Huggins, Calipari, Patino, Theus, Willaims, Olson and Howland how important recruiting is to their job performance. Give me Williams' players and I could roll out the ball at practice and still win 20 games every year.
If you recruit the likes of David Lee, Larry Hughes, Tommy Liddell, Kevin Lisch, Blake Ahearn, Chris Carawell, Cuonzo Martin, Anthony Bonner, Roland Gray, Justin Love, H Waldman, Erwin Claggett or Monroe Douglas does it really matter what conference you play in? With the right players you can win in the A-10, MVC, C-USA or the Big 12.