Observer Posted November 8, 2003 Share Posted November 8, 2003 It has been a long time since I posted, but I have continued to read the board regularly. I could not resist the temptation to say something about all that has occurred. It is great to see that both the arena and the research center are "done deals". I was concerned that the research center would be sacrificed for the arena. At a recent meeting at which Fr Biondi spoke, and which I attended, it was clear that he will proceed with both, breaking ground by March. It appears that the money for the arena is all but in the bank. The research center at the medical school is an extremely important component of the University's future. It will likely raise the school to a level one research university and go a long way toward Biondi's long term goals. By the same token, the A-10 is a no brainer. Because of the exposure in the northeast, it will greatly enhance student recruiting and university prestige. That could not be accomplished in the MVC or CUSA. I am very happy with the present outcome of the conference shake up. I think that the result is better than it would have been had we gotten into the Big East. The outcome allows the basketball program to continue to rise with schools of similar philosophy while postioning ourselves for the next step in conference alignment. As I see it, there is a real risk that the Big East football powers will eventually expel the basketball schools, taking with them (the football schools) the Big East name and NCAA bid. If that occurs the most reasonable resting place for the basketball schools will be in the A-10 and there will not be room for all of them. The lower echelon teams in both conference will be at great risk, and it will be much more likely that we remain in the upper circle of the A-10 at this time than that we could achieve such a goal in the Big East. When the shakeup occurs, certain schools (Xavier, Dayton, SLU) with successful records and big time arenas will be in the best position. I would be very concerned at this time is I were a DePaul or Georgetown fan, for instance. Congratulations and thanks to Woolard, Biondi and Soderberg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted November 8, 2003 Share Posted November 8, 2003 observer said, "schools, taking with them (the football schools) the Big East name and NCAA bid. If that occurs the most reasonable resting place for the basketball schools will be in the A-10 and there will not be room for all of them. The lower echelon teams in both conference will be at great risk, and it will be much more likely that we remain in the upper circle of the A-10 at this time than that we could achieve such a goal in the Big East. When the shakeup occurs, certain schools (Xavier, Dayton, SLU) with successful records and big time arenas will be in the best position. I would be very concerned at this time is I were a DePaul or Georgetown fan, for instance." i never thought of this angle before. take the 12 best of the two conferences and you are correct, depaul might be in trouble. that said, my guess is they dont have the guts to cut out the dc and chicago markets. you know who might be in trouble if they dont continue on the upward path is marquette. what if they dive as fast as they rose. over a 5 year period they could easily be back to where they were 4 years ago in a conference as challenging as the big east. and they dont have the big market to fall back on like depaul does. wouldnt that be ironic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws26 Posted November 8, 2003 Share Posted November 8, 2003 Observer -- good to hear about the research facility. Are they going to build it on that huge empty lot behind the hospital? Also, good point about student recruiting with regards to the east coast exposure from the A-10. Roy said: >i never thought of this angle before. take the 12 best of >the two conferences and you are correct, depaul might be in >trouble. that said, my guess is they dont have the guts to >cut out the dc and chicago markets. you know who might be >in trouble if they dont continue on the upward path is >marquette. what if they dive as fast as they rose. over a >5 year period they could easily be back to where they were 4 >years ago in a conference as challenging as the big east. >and they dont have the big market to fall back on like >depaul does. wouldnt that be ironic! It seems that the only way Marquette goes down hill quickly is if Crean leaves. Doubt that'll happen now that he's in the big east. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted November 8, 2003 Share Posted November 8, 2003 I agree ... I doubt Marquette goes down far ... of course they may not be back in the final four ... but I think they will be very competitive. I think we have to be sure that we continue the upward swing that Brad has started ... We would be closer to being left out than Marquette unless we can be consistently in the top 3 or so of the A-10 every year. Before everyone gets up in arms ... I believe we will ... I'm only saying that we need to better than our 4th - 6th or 7th finishes we've had in CUSA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted November 8, 2003 Share Posted November 8, 2003 ever hear of bobby cremmins? it is possible for the golden child to just disappear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted November 8, 2003 Share Posted November 8, 2003 It is possible but IMO it won't happen ... I think Crean is a good coach who will keep them good for a long time. Same as Brad is for us. If we would have gotten Brad 3-4 years ago ... we might be the one in the Big East. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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