What to Watch for in 2008 -2009
What we'll watch for in 2008 - 2009 in college basketball.
The midmajor programs have been discovered! ESPN and Sports Illustrated now have full time coverage of these conferences. There are now separate top 20 ratings of the mid majors teams. This blog will once again look to break away from what everyone else is doing. It will focus on its own events. Having said that, here are 10 things we will watch for in the upcoming season.
1. Siena -- the program returns five starters from a team that beat UConn last year in the first round. A year ago the Saints won 23 games. While everyone has Davidson in their top 20, Siena should be the lower division I team to watch.
2. Brown -- President Obama's brother in law is no longer coaching here. He "sold out" and took the big bucks to go coach at Oregon State. BAD MOVE. Brown returns three starters from a team that won 19 games a year ago in the Ivy League. Unfortunately, it is not a good season to be good in the Ivy League. Cornell went undefeated a year ago and returns four starters. Harvard has five starters back and a new coach -- Tommy Amaker. Penn also returns four starters off a team that was 8-6 in the Ivy League a year ago. The question here is did former coach Craig Robinson leave new coach Jesse Agel in a better spot than President Bush is leaving President elect O'Bama? Whatever the case might be the Ivy League will hold our attention.
3. The point guard position at Utah State. We have walk on Jaxon Mayer, who lists backpacking among his favorite activites, the greatest player in the history of Western Wyoming Community College - Jared Quayle, and former junior college hot shot Brian Green of SLCC -squaring off for a starting opportunity for the Aggies.
4. Whether or not any of the following leagues can get an at large entrant into the NCAA tournament: Summit, SWAC, Southland, Southern, Patriot, Ivy, Ohio Valley, Northeast, Mideastern, Big South, Big Sky, Atlantic Sun, and American East -- all leagues that have never had at large entrants into the politically motivated NCAA tournament.
5. Along the same lines former Independent schools Utah Valley University, South Dakota, North Dakota, Texas Pan American, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Houston Baptist have formed their own conference, The Great West. Talk about cinderella. Theoretically, these schools are competing for the same trophy as North Carolina, UCLA, UConn, Kentucky and Kansas.
6. If these six feel like they don't belong, imagine how Seattle University must feel. The Red Hawks are returning to division I basketball for the first time since 1980 (see our first article below). They have no conference affiliation, but tons of tradition.
7. The University of Portland. Blessed with the best basketball facility in the northwest, the Pilots have never been any good. Likely because of their harder admission standards which they have never sacrificed in honor of winning basketball games. It might be the second most respected program of this site. This year they have more interesting names that we recognize -- Luke Sikma and Nik Ravio. Remember Jack Sikma with that step back 20 footer for the Sonics in the last 1970's? He was so money before money was even a phrase. The Sonics are gone, but his name lives on. And Ravio, that's the same Ravio name we recognize from Gonzaga, but a brother. Perhaps the right last names can help the Pilots?
8. Air Force, consistently a favorite program of this site, the Academy has been through three coaches over the past five years. They last won a league tournament game in 1990. A year ago they went 8-8 in the MWC. Let's not forget that Air Force actually was rated as the 14th best college basketball program only two seasons ago.
9. Creighton, remember two years ago Dana Altman won our admiration and respect by separating himself from the Rich Rodgriguez's and Mike Price's of the world and walking away from millions of dollars and an Arkansas program after just two days. He returned to coach Creighton. He'll look to extend his streak of 11 consecutive post season appearances and his tenure at the Jesuit school in Omaha this year.
The midmajor programs have been discovered! ESPN and Sports Illustrated now have full time coverage of these conferences. There are now separate top 20 ratings of the mid majors teams. This blog will once again look to break away from what everyone else is doing. It will focus on its own events. Having said that, here are 10 things we will watch for in the upcoming season.
1. Siena -- the program returns five starters from a team that beat UConn last year in the first round. A year ago the Saints won 23 games. While everyone has Davidson in their top 20, Siena should be the lower division I team to watch.
2. Brown -- President Obama's brother in law is no longer coaching here. He "sold out" and took the big bucks to go coach at Oregon State. BAD MOVE. Brown returns three starters from a team that won 19 games a year ago in the Ivy League. Unfortunately, it is not a good season to be good in the Ivy League. Cornell went undefeated a year ago and returns four starters. Harvard has five starters back and a new coach -- Tommy Amaker. Penn also returns four starters off a team that was 8-6 in the Ivy League a year ago. The question here is did former coach Craig Robinson leave new coach Jesse Agel in a better spot than President Bush is leaving President elect O'Bama? Whatever the case might be the Ivy League will hold our attention.
3. The point guard position at Utah State. We have walk on Jaxon Mayer, who lists backpacking among his favorite activites, the greatest player in the history of Western Wyoming Community College - Jared Quayle, and former junior college hot shot Brian Green of SLCC -squaring off for a starting opportunity for the Aggies.
4. Whether or not any of the following leagues can get an at large entrant into the NCAA tournament: Summit, SWAC, Southland, Southern, Patriot, Ivy, Ohio Valley, Northeast, Mideastern, Big South, Big Sky, Atlantic Sun, and American East -- all leagues that have never had at large entrants into the politically motivated NCAA tournament.
5. Along the same lines former Independent schools Utah Valley University, South Dakota, North Dakota, Texas Pan American, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Houston Baptist have formed their own conference, The Great West. Talk about cinderella. Theoretically, these schools are competing for the same trophy as North Carolina, UCLA, UConn, Kentucky and Kansas.
6. If these six feel like they don't belong, imagine how Seattle University must feel. The Red Hawks are returning to division I basketball for the first time since 1980 (see our first article below). They have no conference affiliation, but tons of tradition.
7. The University of Portland. Blessed with the best basketball facility in the northwest, the Pilots have never been any good. Likely because of their harder admission standards which they have never sacrificed in honor of winning basketball games. It might be the second most respected program of this site. This year they have more interesting names that we recognize -- Luke Sikma and Nik Ravio. Remember Jack Sikma with that step back 20 footer for the Sonics in the last 1970's? He was so money before money was even a phrase. The Sonics are gone, but his name lives on. And Ravio, that's the same Ravio name we recognize from Gonzaga, but a brother. Perhaps the right last names can help the Pilots?
8. Air Force, consistently a favorite program of this site, the Academy has been through three coaches over the past five years. They last won a league tournament game in 1990. A year ago they went 8-8 in the MWC. Let's not forget that Air Force actually was rated as the 14th best college basketball program only two seasons ago.
9. Creighton, remember two years ago Dana Altman won our admiration and respect by separating himself from the Rich Rodgriguez's and Mike Price's of the world and walking away from millions of dollars and an Arkansas program after just two days. He returned to coach Creighton. He'll look to extend his streak of 11 consecutive post season appearances and his tenure at the Jesuit school in Omaha this year.
10. And lastly, but most importantly, whether or not The Citadel, William and Mary, Northwestern, Army or St. Francis of New York can make the field of 65. Remember, since 1948 these five have fielded teams every season, but none have reached the NCAA Tournament. That's 300 years of basketball with exactly 0 NCAA tournament births between them.
posted by Editor at 12:45 PM
1 comments
