2018-19 basketball enhancements

[ManAboutTown]

This is because perhaps the question is an either/or scenario. I've talked about this at length and perhaps with you but I will mention it again. Building a program is not done through a one year stint in the NCAA tournament. It's not. If it was, we would be a lot farther along in our journey right now. Sure, it might make you some money in that given year but how many teams do you see make it once or twice but sink right back into their anonymity?

Building a program should be focused on and that is done through regular conference titles, at least initially. Why? Because to do that you have to have a framed consistency in your season that means you are doing something right. Consistency is what builds programs and champions. The problem is with your quote, this does NOT have to be an either/or scenario. Its either go to the tournament or win conference and NIT? I've seen a number of teams win their conference and go to the big dance as well and guess what, those teams are more prepared for that tournament by grinding out every game and every week in their conference. The minute our focus is on 3 days in March, which is a joke, is the minute I will not give one damned more dollar to the university.

My comment is within the frame work of that particular conversation. I don’t think, here, we should be settling for either/or. But the reality is, that’s what we’ve been for a very long time.

[CajunStrong]

I will not name names, and I will not put myself at the scene, but at least one coach on the staff believes it is better to win a regular season title and play in the NIT than to make the dance. From the horses' mouth, jack.

KMSL, that is a great excuse. Just make the NCAA tournament. No if ands or buts.

[zephyr]

My comment is within the frame work of that particular conversation. I don’t think, here, we should be settling for either/or. But the reality is, that’s what we’ve been for a very long time.

Have we? This was our first year winning the conference title in how long? Its been what? 5 or 6 years since we went to the tournament?

To answer the previous question you had about last year, I definitely remember the "____ the bed game" because it was horrible but I also remember winning the conference in a dominating fashion I've never seen at this school. That was impressive. Had it worked out a little better int he conference tournament, we would have really had a special season to discuss right now. We remember the UALR game because it was horrible. I hear more people talk about that game than the one that really derailed us which was the conference tournament loss.

[ManAboutTown]

Have we? This was our first year winning the conference title in how long? Its been what? 5 or 6 years since we went to the tournament?

To answer the previous question you had about last year, I definitely remember the "____ the bed game" because it was horrible but I also remember winning the conference in a dominating fashion I've never seen at this school. That was impressive. Had it worked out a little better int he conference tournament, we would have really had a special season to discuss right now. We remember the UALR game because it was horrible. I hear more people talk about that game than the one that really derailed us which was the conference tournament loss.

**What we’ve been is irrelevant.

[zephyr]

My comment is within the frame work of that particular conversation. I don’t think, here, we should be settling for either/or. But the reality is, that’s what we’ve been for a very long time.

I guess the point is that is the question that is often posed to people. Would you rather make the NCAA tournament OR win the regular season and go to NIT. That is a loaded question. I'd rather both and our goals should be both. If I had to choose for this very moment in time, I'd say the conference title and NIT is better. If we had 3 or 4 years of doing that, I'd say that the NCAA is better since we would have likely built a much better program at that point than where we are today.

[zephyr]

**What we’ve been is irrelevant.

I was just going there since that is what you referenced in your above post. right?

[ManAboutTown]

Have we? This was our first year winning the conference title in how long? Its been what? 5 or 6 years since we went to the tournament?

To answer the previous question you had about last year, I definitely remember the "____ the bed game" because it was horrible but I also remember winning the conference in a dominating fashion I've never seen at this school. That was impressive. Had it worked out a little better int he conference tournament, we would have really had a special season to discuss right now. We remember the UALR game because it was horrible. I hear more people talk about that game than the one that really derailed us which was the conference tournament loss.

The conference tourney loss didn’t cost us an NIT home game, which had plenty of monetary consequences. Conference tourney loss wasn’t inexplicable either.

Look, I don’t want this to turn into a me bashing the basketball program. I’ve loved Cajun basketball since I was a kid. However, as a fan of good competition, I’m not going to lie to myself about how good we are. To make a cross sport reference, Stokely’s independent teams ROUTINELY went up against the nations best and competed. Won a few. Evan’s teams went up against and beat big time basketball schools. We never felt hopeless playing anyone.

I realize that the landscape has changed. But that further supports my point. The margin of era has gotten to be so small, it’s impossible to climb out of the CBB cellar. This conference is AWFUL in basketball. We dominated like never before because it was worse than ever before. Don’t tell me “Mission March” and then 7 years later, “well, ya know, NIT is better”.

This fanbase, across the board, gets fed a lot of horse____, but the excuses from basketball the last 5 years have just gotten to be so frustrating, it’s hard to care at all. This is coming from a die hard Cajun fan.

[ULvictory]

I guess the point is that is the question that is often posed to people. Would you rather make the NCAA tournament OR win the regular season and go to NIT. That is a loaded question. I'd rather both and our goals should be both. If I had to choose for this very moment in time, I'd say the conference title and NIT is better. If we had 3 or 4 years of doing that, I'd say that the NCAA is better since we would have likely built a much better program at that point than where we are today.

Zephyr, I think you're a great supporter and fan. And as much as it pains me to do this, I will have to disagree with you here. I believe that the ultimate goal for every team in Division 1 College Basketball at the start of the season is to make the NCAA Tournament. I would've sacrificed 5-6 of those 27 wins for a spot on that NCAA Bracket last March. That 2014 team won ~20 games and then got hot at the right time to pull off some huge wins in the conference tournament and put us in the field of 68. They didn't win 27 games nor did they win the regular season conference title. But they will be remembered by this school and our fans for a very long time from now.

I think what causes apathy with some people here is the fact that even though winning the regular season conference title is a nice accomplishment, that's a possible ceiling for the current coaching staff. And if a coach did say "Well, I would rather a regular season conference championship and NIT berth over a NCAA tournament appearance," it furthers that point, and it definitely doesn't get me excited to invest in that program as a supporter. Hopefully, they prove us all wrong starting in November.

[Cajunsmike]

The conference tourney loss didn’t cost us an NIT home game, which had plenty of monetary consequences. Conference tourney loss wasn’t inexplicable either.

Look, I don’t want this to turn into a me bashing the basketball program. I’ve loved Cajun basketball since I was a kid. However, as a fan of good competition, I’m not going to lie to myself about how good we are. To make a cross sport reference, Stokely’s independent teams ROUTINELY went up against the nations best and competed. Won a few. Evan’s teams went up against and beat big time basketball schools. We never felt hopeless playing anyone.

I realize that the landscape has changed. But that further supports my point. The margin of era has gotten to be so small, it’s impossible to climb out of the CBB cellar. This conference is AWFUL in basketball. We dominated like never before because it was worse than ever before. Don’t tell me “Mission March” and then 7 years later, “well, ya know, NIT is better”.

This fanbase, across the board, gets fed a lot of horse____, but the excuses from basketball the last 5 years have just gotten to be so frustrating, it’s hard to care at all. This is coming from a die hard Cajun fan.

Jessie Evans had a win over Miss. State on the road and a victory over Ohio State at home in his first year. Those are the only wins I recall he had over teams in the major conferences. He did play highly ranked Arizona to the wire one year but fell short. 20 years ago Ohio State coming here was a nice game but I can't imagine that happening today. In today's world you have to get to the NCAA tournament to be noticed. Regular season success should help you do that due to the seeding format.

[ManAboutTown]

In today's world you have to get to the NCAA tournament to be noticed.

But.. I thought..... NCAA Tourney...?

[Cajunsmike]

But.. I thought..... NCAA Tourney...?

Not sure what you are asking here? We agree NCAA tournament is the No. 1 goal. Winning regular season does improve your odds considerably to get there.

[zephyr]

Zephyr, I think you're a great supporter and fan. And as much as it pains me to do this, I will have to disagree with you here. I believe that the ultimate goal for every team in Division 1 College Basketball at the start of the season is to make the NCAA Tournament. I would've sacrificed 5-6 of those 27 wins for a spot on that NCAA Bracket last March. That 2014 team won ~20 games and then got hot at the right time to pull off some huge wins in the conference tournament and put us in the field of 68. They didn't win 27 games nor did they win the regular season conference title. But they will be remembered by this school and our fans for a very long time from now.

I think what causes apathy with some people here is the fact that even though winning the regular season conference title is a nice accomplishment, that's a possible ceiling for the current coaching staff. And if a coach did say "Well, I would rather a regular season conference championship and NIT berth over a NCAA tournament appearance," it furthers that point, and it definitely doesn't get me excited to invest in that program as a supporter. Hopefully, they prove us all wrong starting in November.

You are thinking of it on a per year basis. Do you want to go to the tournament in 2018 or do you want to build a program? All of the Mid Majors you see in the tournament now on a consistent basis did this by winning championships and recruiting to a coach, system and program focused on winning. They didn't build them by hitting the 5 star lottery every time they went to a random tournament.

I think that's the difference. People think that one year where you may actually have a mediocre year but somehow find your way into the tournament that you are just going to knock it out of the park with recruiting and be on your way. I think history shows that you don't build something on short term success.

Look, it sucks that we didn't go to the tournament last year. We deserved it and had the team to possibly make some noise. We put an exciting product out there that everybody enjoyed watching. We dominated the league we are in. I will say, it was fun and it did more to make me want to renew my season tickets than the bad ending did to make me disappointed in the season.

Your opinion of last year can be different from mine but I thought the run me made did more for our recruiting than had we lost 5-10 games more but somehow lucked into the tournament to play a game we are likely the underdog to by a substantial margin.

If you are a good player, would you rather play for a coach who seemingly has control of his program and can put out a dominating product or one that is floating along just to hope to make the NCAA tournament? I think most players would want to play for the coach and program that has had as much long term success as possible.

The goal is to build a program that is consistently winning and that winning will set it up to make the NCAA tournament consistently as well. The players, coaches and staff are more tested and prepared for crunchtime when they expect to win every game rather than a selected few.