Blue Blobster

X isn't perfect. No program is

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Xavier likes to Play in the NCAA tournaments
Dayton likes to host them while they play in the NIT

El Shaqtus

I'm impartial in the X/Dayton fight, but I'd be proud of X's accomplishments of late for SLU.

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Mom, thanks for everything.

RIP Coach Rick Majerus 12/1/12. You were the one that said it was OK to think big at SLU. You were right.

KVBL Lexington Kings

xavierhoops

I agree. Not sure stophorseeabuse was arguing the national perception of Xavier is perfection or even a powerhouse. Just more so in the A-10/non Big 6 teams. At least Xavier has a national perception and recognition, unlike UD.

Also, don't kid yourself. Xavier has been a MUCH more successful and accomplished program than UD for a heck of a lot longer than 15 years. Try like ALL of modern basketball... more like 3 or 4 decades.

Boy, I missed these Dayton/Xavier debates. Sure glad Muddy is back.

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Chris Mack in 3 years at Xavier has had twice the NCAA wins (4) of the entire Dayton coaching staff in the modern era of NCAA basketball (2).

jpschmack

You know how the stereotype is of bloggers is "losers with zero qualifications firing off silly opinions from their parent's basements" ? I feel that most of the Bleacher Report's losers with zero qualifications firing off their silly opinions probably have their own apartments.

In my short time here, I've noticed that something said gets stretched to extremes. I grasped his point. I assumed it to be "You don't build a top 40 program through stupidity. They made savvy moved after savvy move and know what they're doing." Their coaching hires have been tremendous, the built a great facility, etc, etc.

I don't think X's success is limited to the last 15 years, but I also don't consider the "modern basketball era" as long as four decades old.

The earliest the "modern era" began was 1985 (64 team tournament).
But the modern era to me = TV contracts the driving factor.
That's 1993, when the SEC started conference TV contracts and ESPN2 debuted, doubling timeslots.

paulxu

This was good to read. I thought I had gone into spaceland for a second, trying to find a post I made and couldn't find it.

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...he went up late, and I was already up there.

Knobby

Dude - where have you been? Dayton hosts an NCAA tourney game(s) every year! Kids are falling all over themselves to attend that school so they can see other teams (besides their own) play NCAA games in their back yard..... That means waaay more that actually watching your own team on TV going to elite 8 after elite 8 every year............

You must be smoking crack or something.

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Well, we were smaller, but at least we were slower!

Chalmers0

They don't even get to watch it in their backyard since they are usually traveling to play an NIT game...

Knobby

Touchet`

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Well, we were smaller, but at least we were slower!

xavierhoops

You're right, I probably shouldn't have listed both. But, the point remains. Take your pick. Xavier has been the MUCH more successful and accomplished program throughout the modern basketball era or Xavier has been the MUCH more successful and accomplished program throughout the past 4 decades.

Not sure which sounds worse for UD fans.

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Chris Mack in 3 years at Xavier has had twice the NCAA wins (4) of the entire Dayton coaching staff in the modern era of NCAA basketball (2).

jpschmack

Self awareness is extremely important. The first step to getting somewhere is figuring out where the hell you are starting from.

ChrisSFlyer

So....modern basketball wasn't invented until 1982? I guess that undefeated Indiana team of 1976 might have something to say about that? Larry Bird and Magic in college played with peach baskets? Heck, Jordan barely makes the cusp as a 'modern day' college player if the Xavier timeline is right.

So should all of NCAA basketball be defined as BX and AX like BC & AD? May as well take down all the National Championship Banners hanging from each A10 school's rafters (including X), rename Tom Gola Arena to L-Train Simmons Station, all of Dr. J's existence at UMass (wait....they already had a banner dropping ceremony there, right Knobby?), and so on.

I must have been dreaming when I went to see a game at age 10 and saw a free throw lane that did not look like a proverbial 'key', saw brothers on college teams, saw Nikes and not Chucks, uniforms without belts, and dunks being allowed.

I just wanted to be sure I was right because has there been any team since Indiana to go wire to wire? Or are we still waiting since that was 1976 for the first 'modern era' team?

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RIP Dad 1949-2011. The links & the drinks aren't the same..

Bona Wolf for Pope

The narrative of success is filtered through the lens of what makes your school look the best. At Bonas, basketball really only mattered 1960-77, and March 2012. For Dayton, basketball attendance is indicative of great things. For Xavier, pointing out the flaws in other teams (or other teams fans) is like an extra 3-4 wins per year. For UMass, the dreams of 2014 are the most important. For Fordham, they have a nice campus and a law school.

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"Careful reading comprehension is crucial to an online forum discussion."

ace93

Fans on our board, the older ones of course, *love* to talk about the 1970-71 team that was ranked in the top 10 and played to SRO crowds at MSG vs. Notre Dame and Marquette.

jpschmack

I repeat: In my short time here, I've noticed that something said gets stretched to extremes.

No, we shouldn't take down banners from the 70s or pretend nothing before 1985 really happened. But thinking college basketball is the SAME now as it was before a 64-team tournament and TV contracts came into play is lunacy.

Recruiting is the lifeblood of college athletics. Out of the items that impress recruits, the things you control as an athletic department are: Weight rooms, locker rooms, training room, personalized attention from academic coordinators, quality "training table" (aka free meals), etc. Those are also the things that cost money. And the money comes from TV. Some from the TV contract your conference signs for the regular season; and some from the making/winning in the NCAA Tournament payout (which comes from the NCAA's TV contract with CBS).

Schools change conferences and adjust their schedules to pursue more TV money, so they can built and remodel and increase their recruiting budgets. Go buy a copy of EA Sports NCAA Basketball or Football. The actual 40 minutes on the court is only part of the game. Most of doing well in Dynasty mode is the other stuff that -- in real life -- is heavily influenced by TV dollars.

That's what makes the modern era the "64+ Team Tourney on CBS, TV deal with ESPN/NBC/CBS/Fox" era.

I'm a Bona grad!

There was no TV money in 1965. The difference between going to Bonas and going to Duke was not all that vast in 1965. We could get Bob Lanier out of Buffalo.
There was some TV money in 1987. The difference between going to Bonas and Duke was titled a lot in Duke's favor and we couldn't get Christian Laettner out of Buffalo (the first letter Laettner got was from us).
And as the money gets bigger, the disparity gets bigger.

It's a different game. Modern college basketball is an "arms" race, with weight rooms and TV time instead of missiles and bombs.

Flyer75

I don't think anyone disagrees that the game has changed but I visit a ton of message boards that encompass most of the major sports and I rarely, if ever, see time periods clarified. X has been on a roll for 15-20 years but ive never seen a fan base in any sport use the term "modern era" over and over and over like X fans do. As if the sport was invented in 1986 or something.