Kevin Waymire

HA. You did accomplish all of those things. A job well done. Do it consistently, now, and don't become a one hit wonder.

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"Miller didn't do anything last year to improve on or surpass Gregory's performance..... In fact it looked just like a Gregory team. Nice start, crappy middle (with every excuse in the book), a decent win or two near the end to get everyone's hopes up, then a dissapointing finish - that is Dayton basketball 2002 - 2012."

-KNOBBY

Bona84

Agreed, Wolf. Not fair to expect Ndoye to take over for The Professor. I think Conger will emerge from the very large shadow of Nicholson, but there are likely to be contributions from several other overlooked players. Don't get me wrong, I think Ndoye has a lot of potential, but he doesn't need to and shouldn't be expected to replace Nicholson.

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Bona84

TiberiusJuliusCaesar

Why not allow a thread about the X/UC fight? Then everyone who opens it will know what they are getting into? Just a suggestion.

Blue Blobster

The only ones who keep bringing it up are the Dayton trolls who are looking for cheap potshots at Xavier. There is no need to give them another forum for it.

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

jpschmack

The more I think about it, the "modern era" of college basketball can't be until AT LEAST 1987: Three-point line.

Knobby

Et tu Julius, Et tu?

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

AdamtheFlyer

Basketball in 1986 was virtually the same game as it was in 1987. If you're looking for a true era shift, it happened with UCLA's first title in 1964. UCLA changed the game in so many more ways than anything else, and was the biggest driving force behind college basketball becoming a legitimate TV product. I don't think it's a coincidence that the tourney grew by 17 teams from 1939-1974, then by 39 teams in essentially the next decade.

A rule change didn't usher in a new era, the perimeter jumper was already a key component of the game before the 3 point line came in. The 64 team bracket didn't do it, either. If you ask most people, they probably think the tourney doubled in size in 1985. Nope. The tourney had 53 teams in 1984. There was no massive jump. The number of teams rose steadily because...

...John Wooden (or some would say Sam Gilbert) changed everything. If you watch film, the game of today looks strikingly similar to what UCLA was doing from 1964-1975. At its core, the game evolved more from 1950 to 1963 than it has since 1964.

You can pick years out to make whatever point you want to make more valid. The truth is in the way the game is played. When that changes, you have an era shift. Baseball shifted when minorities were allowed to play, again with the DH, again when steroids made the inner half a place pitchers couldn't live, and may have shifted again just within the last few years, but it's still too early to say that. The NFL changed with the merger. College football changed with the color barrier around the southeast breaking down, and is in transition with a real postseason coming and the spread offense becoming almost standard operating procedure. The NBA changed with Magic and Bird.

But the last true "holy crap this is different" moment in college basketball happened in 1964. Everything since that year has been normal tweaking with growth. But don't confuse growth with a seismic shift.

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Sure, I've been called a xenophobe, but the truth is, I'm not. I honestly just feel that America is the best country and the other countries aren't as good. That used to be called patriotism.

Knobby

I think JPS is right. The hree point line is a really good place to draw the line. Adam, you don't think that little stripe didn't drastically change hw the game is played today? entire teams are built on shooting from there, before that it was a pure big man game. Most of the real championship tems back then needed a real center to win, today you can win with an athletic "4" n the middle and 4 bombers.

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

xudash

I don't believe it's a matter of confusing anything. You're going down the road of how the game itself has changed. Others are more focused on change defined as how the championship for the sport has evolved. It is a valid and material point to make: anyone who believes a NC from the earlier eras equate to those won in what now is a 68 team field is nuts.

jpschmack

Yeah, I don't think the game of BASKETBALL is recreated every couple years or so.

But it's "The World Of NCAA BASKETBALL" that gets radically changed. Just like baseball in 1927 was really, really close to baseball of 2007, the "world of MLB" changed radically based on how players are acquired and change teams.

Bona84

I believe the "World of College Basketball" changed during the 80s due to a number of events or trends. Expansion of the tourney and 3 point line were contributors. But, the expansion of TV/media coverage that began then and continues to expand to this day was the key world changer. ESPN started in what, 1979? Cable channels began to grow, news and sports highlights expanded, and eventually Al Gore invented the Internet. The Big schools with large alumni bases helped drive media coverage, and continue to do so, today.

And, kids/recruits want or are told to go to where they get the exposure that has been created.

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Bona84

b. mann

I know you've heard it before...and hope springs eternal...but Fordham's talent level really has seemed to improve for this year. There actually is some size, there are a few point guards to choose from that have some vetted talent, and they do have Gaston. Biggest problems are inexperience and a BRUTAL OOC schedule that allows for only 3 home games, all taking place during student breaks. Haven't seen the conference schedule yet (is it out?), but by the time conference play begins, they could be buried or could be ready to make a little more noise than usual. Things are looking up talent-wise for sure, but winning on the road is always daunting. GO RAMS!

jpschmack

Pretty much, but the most significant aspect of the change was the de-regulation of TV rights from the NCAA (which sold a "game of the week") to conferences negotiating their own TV deal.

The first conference TV deals were Notre Dame's NBC football contract and the SEC in 1992.
That was also the same time ESPN2 debuted.

Those two moves not only pumped TV dollars into the big conferenes, but the tripling or quadrupling of TV time slots essentially added new aspects of recruiting.


I am jonesing for some actual games to talk about. When's the TV schedule come out?