State of the Program

[MARQ2010]

Just interested in getting fans' perspective on their own programs and where they think they'll be moving forward. What is the general feeling toward your coach? How strong is the administration's support for basketball? How is recruiting going? New investments on the horizon? etc Obviously fans will differ on where their programs stand, but I still am interested in what people think about their programs strengths and weaknesses.

I'll start it off with Marquette.

Given the unexpected success of the team this year, most MU fans are feeling pretty good looking forward. While there was some concern about the administration's (especially the AD's) support for Buzz in the spring given some nebulous reports of tension, most fans have nothing but love for what Buzz is doing. Still, given what Tan Tommy did to us, any job vacancy leads to numerous rumors and threads being started about Buzz bolting, especially when its a Southern school.

The administration has devoted quite a bit of cash to basketball and I personally don't see that stopping anytime soon given their return on investment. The Final Four a decade ago and continued tournament births really improved the school's national visibility and is correlated with a huge increase in undergraduate applications. Milwaukee needs a new basketball arena in the next few years and the school's arena of 5k isn't a workable alternative, but I wouldn't say that many fans are concerned about it unless the Bucks really start to tank.

Buzz has got a great recruiting class coming in, putting a wall around Milwaukee's top 100 recruits and picking off some top talent from around the country. We've got no problem getting top 60 caliber guards and wings into the program, but Buzz really needs to spin Gardner and Otule's success in the paint into a few high quality big men recruits. We have a tough time beating out schools like Kansas and Indiana for kids, but have been able to overcome schools like Mizzou, Memphis, UConn and the like.

All in all, I think most MU fans are very optimistic about Buzz being able to take us to the next level. We fully expect to be contending for the new Big East's title on an annual basis and this new league is the best possible outcome for us in all of this realignment mess.

[James]

I like the direction the Johnnies have taken with Steve Lavin, he's not a great X and Os guy but he's a tremendous recruiter and has brought in talent like Sampson, Obekpa and Harkless over the past two years. I really hope he stays in NYC for a long time - he's not had his personal troubles to seek since joining but he's bounced back and kept this young team relevant. Another year together and this young, raw team could be a real threat to make a nice run into the tournament - the fact we're even being considered to be a bubble team this year has been a nice surprise and speaks volumes of the coaching staff. The developments regarding D'Angelo Harrison are disappointing and I hope it can be resolved in time for play next year. If not, I like to think we have a real shot at getting the talented Rysheed Jordan from Philly. Despite the lack of real success on the court we do have a decent administration who have always backed their coach.

I think we've perhaps got the biggest thing going for us, above all other teams in this new conference, is that we have MSG as our stage and NYC as our backdrop. A great coach, playing at the mecca of basketball and being in an exciting new conference will serve us well going forward and perhaps reinvigorate the potential fan base; we saw it two years ago against Duke what it's like when NYC backs this team.

[BillEsq]

St. Louis is on its way up. Nice new facilities solid fan base and we are poised for a deep run this year and returning a strong team for next year. The administration has shown some commitment to sports and has built several new facilities for the various other sports programs and most of the other sports have shown steady improvement across the board. I don't see any reason for this not to continue. The biggest question we have is in coaching/ recruiting. Any time you lose a 500 plus win coach its a cause for concern but Crews has show more than capable of coaching this year and has 300 plus wins under his belt. He is a pretty good x/o's coach and has a experienced staff that is great at game planning. Slu's recruiting is a huge concern and is a hot button issue on the SLU boards. That said while we may miss on All-Americans we run a Wisconsin Defense and a Knight Indiana Offense, both systems cater to undersized guards, with high motors, and high BBIQ. These kind of recruits usually run under the radar and below the top 150 prospect list so not having a high ranked recruiting class doesn't really mean much to SLU. So that said assuming they can keep going i see no real let down.

[bostonblackie]

The general consensus of Seton Hall fans is that Kevin Willard is a very good coach in these areas: X's and O's, player development, communications/PR , image and character, dedication and work ethic. The problem in most fans' minds has been recruiting.

Our current roster consists of 4 players from the same "basketball academy" in the Canary Islands (Auda, Geramipoor, Karlis, Maayan), one player recruited by the previous coach (and re-recruited by Willard) (Edwin), 3 transfers back to NJ (Teague, Oliver, and Gibbs), 2 players recruited out of prep schools (Cosby, Mobley), 1 grad student transfer who formerly played for Willard at Iona (Smyth). Only Kevin Johnson enrolled directly out of high school and he was ineligible as a frosh. Not one New Jersey high school player has been recruited directly out of high school. Because most fans have been supportive of Willard, the spotlight from the street is beginning to hit the staff. Shaheen Holloway is a Seton Hall legend and likely untouchable but, in truth, has not distinguished himself on the road. Chris Pompey's chops were allegedly earned as a MD/DC recruiter. To date, we have nothing to show from that region, although the infamous Aquille Carr is a Baltimore product. (It's anyone's guess whether he ever steps foot on a college campus.) Dan McHale is a Louisville associate of Willard's and is said to have been responsible for both Cosby and Mobley, two good players. The staff has worked the Jersey scene very hard and came within a whisker and possibly a wallet of getting Kyle Anderson, Jr. last year. It needs a breakthrough on the recruiting trail - one great player to start the ball rolling or perhaps a fresh face recruiter with a history of success in the NY/NJ/Philly/DC areas.

At no time in its history has the Seton Hall basketball program ever had the financial support and administrative know-how that it presently enjoys. The AD (Patrick Lyons) "gets it" - in all areas - something Seton Hall hasn't been able to say since Richie Regan sat in that chair. So surprisingly, a school that has survived its first 33 years in the Big East on a shoestring (on a good day), can no longer use money or vision as an excuse.

From my point of view, one of Seton Hall's biggest problems is its fan base. It is a university with an alumni giving rate of 8% - both laughable and pathetic using any criteria. Selling tickets is a huge problem, but even larger is the fact that those season-ticket holders who do pony-up the cash either don't show up (the mid-court seats most visible on TV are almost always near-vacant) and the hard-core fans are middle-aged to seniors who, in typical Jersey fashion, sit on their hands because they see themselves as "coaches" and not really fans who are expected to actually cheer loudly (unless the team is playing exceptionally well.) Admittedly, there is a core group of loyal Pirate Blue and Booster Club fans who travel relatively well and encourage the players; but this is not Syracuse, UConn, or Georgetown we're talking about. Visiting teams almost never have to face the crowds that the Pirates do on the road. The Rock rarely rocks.

There are no problems here that winning cannot solve. And considering the talents of Kevin Willard, there will be many wins once the recruiting problem has been solved. We have a great coach who recruits high-character kids who excel in the classroom, a supportive administration, an arena second to none, a great new league, and the potential to build a student and alumni fanbase who are willing to shoulder their fair share of the load.

[EMT]

Providence has a chance to be between very good and excellent next year depending on whether Ricky Ledo stays to play a year of college hoops or throws his name into the ring for the NBA Draft in May.

Friars lose Vincent Council and that will hurt but Kris Dunn, a McD AA, is the best athlete on the team this year and should be more than capable running the point next year. Returning will be leading BE scorer Bryce Cotton, possibly the most improved big man in the BE in Kadeem Batts, and undersized forward LaDonte Henton who is one of the better rebounders in the conference. Josh Fortune has been an effective, but streaky, shooter that will only get better.

In addition to Ledo, the Friars get Carson Desroisiers from Wake and Tyler Harris from NC State eligible next year and Brandon Austin, a top 50 kid from Philly and Rodney Bullock from VA for next year. That gives the Friars 5 former Top 100 recruits on next year's roster.

2014 will be key from a recruiting perspective as Ed Cooley has the Friars high on the list of some Top 50 talent to add to the roster.

Things are very bullish in Providence for the first time in about 10 years. We have a coach that was born and raised in Providence that is relentless on the recruiting trail. He stole Austin out from under Texas and UConn. There are a number of Friar fans that are a little bummed that we couldn't take next year's team through one last tour of the old BE, but life goes on.

[jkc_dawgs]

Coming from a Butler fan here.

First and foremost, how can you not like Brad Stevens. The guy is a total class act and he has been to two F4's and he is only 37. When we hit the game winners against Marquette and Gonzaga this year, he had no reaction at all. He just went on with his business and shook the other coaches hand.

I really don't know how much the administration is involved in the program. I can tell you that the BU president was crowd surfing with the students when we made our first F4.

Butler recruiting should be stronger than it is. I am impressed how much Brad gets out of each of his players though. Butler recruiting usually gets under-the-radar players who turn out well. Hayward, Howard, and Mack were not even on ESPN recruiting. The good news is that Butler has a bright future with recruiting. Butler is in the lead for the 45th best player in the nation in the 2014 class Trevon Bluiett and they are in Trey Lyles' top 6 (#4 on ESPN, 2014).

Obviously Butler is making much needed improvements to Hinkle. The main problem with facilities is that Butler doesn't have a basketball only facility. Rumor has it that 5-8 years down the road they are going to make one. That aspect really hurts Butler in recruiting. Butler finished second for Zak Irvin (going to Mich next season) and Cody Zeller mainly because of that reason.

[Flyer01]

Dayton is a program that has been slowly building on its level of play since the late 90's with the arrival off Oliver Purnell having to complete rebuild the program after it was destroyed by Jim O'Brien. He built the talent level and level of play relative to the conference and but his ceiling was getting to the NCAA tournament. He suffered two first round defeats (last season got upset as 3 seed by Tulsa) but had built the level of talent in the program to a decent level when he left. After him Brian Gregory came in and took his players who had earned a 3 seed the previous season and won the Maui Invitational but wasn't able to continue the progress of the program. Gregory was able to have a lot of success against BCS schools and while I don't have his record against them it was very strong. Gregory did suffer some bad luck with injuries dismantling his best season when he lost future NBA player Brian Roberts midway through his senior season. But overall Gregory was a coach who got his teams to play to the level of competition and won slightly more than he lost. Overall the program was in a worse place when he left after 8 seasons especially because since he left the program now has only 1 of his last 8 recruits actually suiting up for the Flyers thanks to transfers and decommitts (Ladontae Henton, Juwan Staten, among others). Archie Miller was able to overachieve with what little talent was left over last season but with the team depending on basically all newcomers other than Kevin "Old Man" Dillard this season has had it's share of growing pains. Their is a glaring lack of depth and experience thanks to all the newcomers in the program over the last 2 seasons. The team has players that even as freshman have showed good signs for the future but a terrible record in close games (Lost 7 of 8 games where team had the game was tied or had a chance to take the lead in last minute) has really made the team look worse than they are. The team has 3 freshman (Robinson, Pierre and Price) who have showed they are at worst very solid contributors plus they will be adding Jordan Siebert a transfer from OSU and a highly regarded recruiting class featuring two good players from Chicago (one of them Simeon's elite defender Kendall Pollard) and a scoring PG from NYC via Putnam Academy in Connecticut. This is a team that may be very good during the 14-15 season and hopefully beyond.

As far as recruiting Dayton has done well in Chicago, Michigan and the Dayton area since Gregory got on campus as that was the area he was familiar with and had success getting players. Miller has shown he can go into Chicago and get two very good players while also having excellent recruiters with Allen Griffen, Kevin Kuwik and Tom Ostrom. Now the key will be getting players that will actually improve over their 4 years and having the ability to coach them up. That remains to be seen at this point although I like the track record of the Miller family.

The University has very strong support for the basketball program since it's the revenue generator that drives the rest of their sports program. Dayton typically packs over 13,000 almost nightly in UD Arena which has seen several improvements in recent years to keep up with NCAA demands for tournament sites. The support from alumni and nationwide is demonstrated by the Flyers constant inclusion in holiday tournaments. The fans really travel well and that's their attraction for those tournaments since the team name isn't going to draw any casual fans to the tourneys. The First Four support that the community generates is also evidence that the people in Dayton have nothing better to do than watch basketball at UD Arena whether it is the Flyers or another NCAA team. The team gets strong support from both alumni in the area as well as locals who probably wish they went to UD. I wouldn't believe the delusion of the fan base if I hadn't seen it first hand. It's almost as if the results over the last 30 years have been reversed between Dayton and Xavier based on the fan appreciation of the Flyers by their fan base. Their heads may explode if the team actually had real success. When it comes to discussions about the tv market the Flyers really do dominate the market unlike is rational to believe any mid major could without the success of a Butler, Gonzaga, Xavier, etc. It's like a mini version of Syracuse where the team is supported by alumni and locals alike probably partially due to an inferiority complex with the bigger programs around them or in Cuse's case lack of professional sports team near them.


IMO, the new Big East is make or break time for the Dayton program. If the ultimate decision is to include them in the conference I think the basketball program will rise up and be an upper half program on a regular basis. The fan support is there locally and across the midwest and northeast with alumni all over Chicago, St. Louis and across the Northeast. The inclusion in a legitimate big time league along with the fan support and facilities already in place would make them a serious threat on a higher level of recruit. Miller has already done a nice job and he's proven at OSU and Arizona that he can get recruits, it'd be interesting to see him do the same in a big time league. At the same time getting left out of the league while also losing the rivalry with X would be a big hit to the program. They would be stuck in a league with no natural or traditional rivals and without a real high quality level of play. They would be competing for local and midwestern recruits against programs that are all in a higher level of conference. I suspect the program would have no national attention for anything other than the First Four.

[sandw04]

Although I am not the best person to comment on the state of DePaul basketball, I do want my university represented.

As all are aware, DePaul, with a proud history, has fallen on hard times. Fans are both disappointed and bitter. After decades of success under the coaching of Ray Meyer and his son, Joey, there have been few high points. Joey Meyer was let go after 3 unsuccessful seasons during which he had lost the ability to recruit Chicago athletes. Although DePaul's Lincoln Park campus sits in a hotbed of high school basketball, we have been unable to attract the star athletes. Joey Meyer's successor, Pat Kennedy, did have a brief run during which players like Quinton Richardson, Bobby Simmons, and others made runs at the NCAA tournament. Kennedy, hired from Florida State, was replaced by Dave Leitao, a top assistant to Calhoun at UCONN. He made the NCAA and got a tournament win over Dayton, but soon left for Virginia and the cupboard was bare of talent. Fearing that DePaul would become a stepping stone coaching position, the AD went for Chicago native Jerry Wainwright, who had success at UNC Wilmington, but less at U of Richmond. His tenure at DePaul was disastrous. Seeking a "power coach" from a major school, Oliver Purnell (Clemson) was hired as a coach with a reputation for rebuilding programs. Other successful coaches such as Jamie Dixon and Bob Howland turned down overtures to coach at DePaul. Now in his third season, Purnell has lost the confidence of DePaul fans. Our progress has been dismal and a 10 point loss to South Florida this weekend has been deadening. A victory would have allowed DePaul to escape the Big East cellar which they have occupied for the past 4 or 5 seasons.

It seems DePaul was ill-prepared for its entrance into the Big East. How it will respond to the new BE is yet to be seen. Both the AD and the Head Coach have contracts for 4 more years, so a change in leadership is not coming soon. The question of facilities has also hurt DePaul in recruiting. New training facilities were built upon entrance to the Big East, but they are shared facilities, so men's basketball practices next to the women's team with a screen separating the courts. We play our home games some 25 miles from campus in a now outdated All State arena, that seats 17,000,000, but our attendance is usually a fraction of that. DePaul does not enjoy a home court advantage. There has been discussion about moving men's basketball back into the city, but the on-campus arena sits about 4000 at best. Apparently Chicago Stadium, home of the NBA Bulls and NHL Blackhawks, has offered a sweetheart deal for DePaul games. Also the city of Chicago is looking to encourage investment in an area west of the Loop, near DePaul's downtown campus.

An on-campus or near campus arena would be perfect, but the obstacles are severe. DePaul's Lincoln Park campus is a very trendy, affluent area with expensive and limited real estate. Additionally, residents are generally opposed to non-residential expansion, added traffic congestion, and wield considerable clout in the neighborhood.

So there are considerable obstacles that face DePaul. On the other hand, DePaul has proven in the past that it can be a major player in the NCAA. Sports, like most things, run in cycles. All of the negatives facing the DePaul program can be overcome. The biggest positive that DePaul has is its location in a very vibrant area of Chicago, an attractive campus, and its location in an area where more effective recruiting can quickly turn a program around.

[BillEsq]

I've done some reading into the DePaul thing and most DePaul fans tend to blame your AD for the program's failures. Is that accurate? she really doesn't appear to have done well for the BBall.

[Edrick]

Butler is heading for a rough patch next year. They need a home run 2014 class. Luckily, they appear to be in good shape with a 1/2 dozen top 100/150 guy in particular trevon blueitt a local 4-star kid. if they add blueitt getting 5-star trey lyles for the one year becomes much more likely. lyles is a local 1 and done and the final four is in Indianapolis that year.

the 2013 class will likely end up having 3 rivals top 150 guys on the final update so that would likely give them a top 25 class. thats a step in the right direction