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#Post#: 26336--------------------------------------------------
Re: Rumor mill: Boals/Ford on the move?
DIR By: Chairman of the Board
Date: March 20, 2019, 8:07 am
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agreed with the analysis- and would echo:
We'd need to get through the buzzsaw that is Vermont and win the
AE multiple times to be attractive
#Post#: 26339--------------------------------------------------
Re: Rumor mill: Boals/Ford on the move?
DIR By: Checkmate
Date: March 20, 2019, 9:19 am
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--- Quote from: Chairman of the Board link ---
>
> agreed with the analysis- and would echo:
>
> We'd need to get through the buzzsaw that is Vermont and win
the AE multiple times to be attractive
>
--- End Quote ---
Eh. I think winning is only a sliver of this thing. We'll always
be a stepping stone as long as we're playing in a bottom 5 or 10
conference. Same thing goes with players. We'll fill our roster
with two stars unless there's a switch. We have a beautiful
arena, great facilities, a strong academic institution, and a
good fan base for the moment. Still, no blue-chipper gets
excited about going north for the winter, going into crummy old
empty gyms, and facing the dregs of Division I basketball.
#Post#: 26341--------------------------------------------------
Re: Rumor mill: Boals/Ford on the move?
DIR By: Moveitfred
Date: March 20, 2019, 10:13 am
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[/quote]
Eh. I think winning is only a sliver of this thing. We'll always
be a stepping stone as long as we're playing in a bottom 5 or 10
conference. Same thing goes with players. We'll fill our roster
with two stars unless there's a switch. We have a beautiful
arena, great facilities, a strong academic institution, and a
good fan base for the moment. Still, no blue-chipper gets
excited about going north for the winter, going into crummy old
empty gyms, and facing the dregs of Division I basketball.
[/quote]
This, yes.
Overall, from my perspective, SBU does things pretty well
considering its resources and situation (which also includes
fielding a wide range of sports teams most people don't talk
about, that also do well and also draw energy/resources in the
athletic dept).
I'm sure those who primarily or only follow men's basketball as
the marque sport can't help but feel snakebitten as well in
recent years. If instead of what still feels a bit like sneaking
into one NCAA tournament with arguably the greatest team in SBU
history the team had gotten into, say, maybe 3 over the last ten
years or so (doesn't getting in two out of four Warney years
plus maybe one more with those other good teams feel about
right?) maybe a number of fans would not be so riled.
Add to the madness is the reality that UVM is also always there
at the end, and they tend to break through about 50% of the
time. Why can't we have at least that, too? One would think if
you're a top contender winning the big prize about half the time
would be reasonable, but to be regularly good but seemingly
always coming up short in a one-bid league can be maddening and
get you thinking there are gods in the sky conspiring against
you.
And of course in 10 years one of these three things will be
true: 1. We will still feel shafted, maybe with still only one
NCAA dance, 2. we'll feel good or better with a couple, three
more bids, or 3. We'll finally overtake UVM and be the
powerhouse who seems like they're always getting in. There's my
Capt. Obvious list for the day.
How do you achieve #3? Not easy, all things considered, and also
be careful what you wish for.
#Post#: 26342--------------------------------------------------
Re: Rumor mill: Boals/Ford on the move?
DIR By: OldSeawolf
Date: March 20, 2019, 10:18 am
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I'll take a moderate position here.
I think there is no doubt that winning breeds enthusiasm, when
it comes to the fans, student interest, community interest, and
publicity in the college basketball world. Who ever heard of
Gonzaga until they started winning every year; now it seems like
they are a perennial 1 or 2 seed. There was a different feel
around the arena when Warney was around and we were winning.
Didn't have that feel this year, IMO. Hate to look backwards,
but winning only 1 of 5 AE Championship games (3 of which were
home!), didn't help. Losing in the QF's this year, negated a
lot of the progress we built during the season. Win games, win
big games, and the fans will come, and the buzz around the
nation will develop. Winning cures all (or at least helps a
lot).
All that said, the AE is not strong enough of a conference to
natively attract 3+ star players. There are only circa 4,500
DI players in the country, and the players that you're going to
attract to the AE, are under-the-radar players or guys that know
they're not good enough to play in the P5 conferences and
subsequently the NBA, and just want a solid education at zero
cost. You have to be extremely lucky to attract a John Stockton
type to SBU.
So, here's what I would suggest as part of a 5-10 year plan, to
become the next Gonzaga:
1) Double the budget of the program through donations and
activity fees. Increased visibility of the sports programs has
ripple effects on the academic institution at large;
2) Get a top-name coach (not an Assistant) that will garner
national attention. If we need to pay $1MM/year, so be it;
3) Get a coach with some Long Island roots that can establish a
relationship with the 3MM people and multitude of high schools
we have on Long Island. Let Long Island become a breeding
ground for SBU players;
4)Yes, move to a better conference; A10 at the minimum. Forget
about moving to another 1-bid conference like the CAA; there is
no real incremental gain for doing that;
5)Forge a relationship with High School sports programs in the
area: free tickets to high school and middle school teams,
regular newsletter communiques to the players and parents of
these schools, schedule regular coaching workshops, etc. Create
a buzz in the area that will keep these kids home;
Need to think big, and yes, it takes money to make money (or
gain notoriety). We've come a long way with sports from the
days when I was an undergraduate at SBU (and navigating the
muddy campus to play bball in the dusty gym). Kudos to our
President (and former President) and the sports administration
for getting us where we are today. Now, let's take that next
leap.
Are we all in?
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