The door is now open...

[treeman]

With the recent departures of Creighton and now WSU the door is wide-open in the MVC to be the next power. Let's face the facts, WSU was going to DOMINATE the MVC for the foreseeable future in EVERYTHING! So while I'm sad to see a longtime conference foe depart, i'm not going to shed a tear because that fish just got to big for this pond.

Now that begs the question, who is gonna step up and fill the role that is truly anybodies to take? I'd like to think Indiana State can maybe finally take advantage of a situation for once and raise our profile and truly become an MVC contender across the board in all sports.

Here is a quick look at how I see current members potentials:

Bradley - They have the most potential of any MVC school to become the big dog. But their lack of recent success comes at a terrible time for them.

Drake- no way, although being in a big metro area does give them an argument.

Loyola - not going to happen. Chicago is a pro-sports town. They will never support a mid-major.

Evansville - As long as Marty is there they will continue to be middle of the pack for the foreseeable future.

Missouri State - They too have potential to be the bid dogs. But they can't seem to find their footing in any sports and continually underachieve across the board.

Southern Illinois - They have the history and fanbase (when winning) to raise their profile. But with the recent budget cuts in Illinois, it looks like the Saluki Days are done for a while.

Illinois State - They are the hot school in the Valley right now. They appear to be in the drivers seat to take the top spot. But can they take advantage of the opportunity? time will tell.

Northern Iowa - There is just something about UNI that screams they have reached their potential. They have had GREAT success the past 10 years both in the MVC and nationally and they still lack a solid fanbase. UNI will continue to be a solid program to compete against but can they bring it to the next level?

Indiana State- Quite honestly, we have done nothing to suggest that we can be a contender year in and year out. But I do think that we have potential if we get some pieces to fall our way. We have a good history to build off of, and we do have a decent fanbase given our lack of continued success for the past 40 years. The Hulman Center renovations will be a huge key for us. For once I'd just love to see us take advantage of this situation.

 

[Jason Svoboda]

IMO, Loyola is a potential sleeping giant.

Yes, their home attendance sucks but they have a good basketball spend already, a large student population and a huge endowment. Once the administration realizes Porter Moser is not good enough to take their program to the next level, I have a feeling they could be the next team to have a nice run in the Valley.

 

[4Q_iu]

IMO, Loyola is a potential sleeping giant.

Yes, their home attendance sucks but they have a good basketball spend already, a large student population and a huge endowment. Once the administration realizes Porter Moser is not good enough to take their program to the next level, I have a feeling they could be the next team to have a nice run in the Valley.

Agree -- given the HUGE talent base that's in Chicago; if Loyola puts some $$ and effort into the MBB program, they could really have something. It's a wealthy school, there's a ton of talent in the city; it's simply a matter of commitment and making the right coaching hire

 

[xfactor9600]

IMO, Loyola is a potential sleeping giant.

Yes, their home attendance sucks but they have a good basketball spend already, a large student population and a huge endowment. Once the administration realizes Porter Moser is not good enough to take their program to the next level, I have a feeling they could be the next team to have a nice run in the Valley.

I keep thinking the same thing about DePaul. Yet it doesn't get better. They wasted 4 years of Billy Garrett Jr.

 

[4Q_iu]

I keep thinking the same thing about DePaul. Yet it doesn't get better. They wasted 4 years of Billy Garrett Jr.

DePaul was under the 'Meyer after-effect' for years; still always surprising they DON'T commit more to the MBB program

AND given that both DePaul and Loyola have "academic missions" to work with, for the 'disadvantaged' -- i'm even more puzzled at their lack of commitment...

Course, look how long it's taken Northwestern to get its "act" together...

 

[xfactor9600]

DePaul was under the 'Meyer after-effect' for years; still always surprising they DON'T commit more to the MBB program

AND given that both DePaul and Loyola have "academic missions" to work with, for the 'disadvantaged' -- i'm even more puzzled at their lack of commitment...

Course, look how long it's taken Northwestern to get its "act" together...

I was at a DePaul game this year, the last one at All-State Arena. I estimate 85% of their Intro Videos and Highlight clips referenced the Meyer Family in some way. They have built a new arena, but it's smaller (I believe). From what I understand All-State Arena was not sorry to see them go.

At any rate, we will see if they turn the corner.

DePaul was used as an example that it is possible to "F" something up in Chicago if you're not dedicated to it.

 

[treeman]

IMO, Loyola is a potential sleeping giant.

Valid argument but just the overall lack of support for ANY Chicago college team (save Northwestern this year) is just downright terrible. That city just refuses to acknowledge college athletics.

 

[bent20]

Hopefully, there will be some relative parity for a while. May not be great for the conference's reputation, but I'd prefer to see some different teams in it each year and not one team dominating because they have all of the advantages.

 

[Sycamore624]

I can see where it's easy to think the potential is there for Loyola but that could be said for several Valley teams including us in honesty. Like others have posted and we already know there is almost no fan support for Loyola in Chicago which also means as far as recruiting as players don't wanna go play in front of crowds smaller than they are use too in high school. There is alot of talent in Chitown but between the new staffs at Illinois and Mizzou they have both stated they are going to recruit Chicago hard 24/7.

 

[4Q_iu]

I can see where it's easy to think the potential is there for Loyola but that could be said for several Valley teams including us in honesty. Like others have posted and we already know there is almost no fan support for Loyola in Chicago which also means as far as recruiting as players don't wanna go play in front of crowds smaller than they are use too in high school. There is alot of talent in Chitown but between the new staffs at Illinois and Mizzou they have both stated they are going to recruit Chicago hard 24/7.

I think the jury is out on illinois...

they've LONG struggled to get the best talent out of chicago; apparently the academic leaders, admissions (maybe even the athl department leaders) will NOT deal with the 'talent acquisition mangers' the 'bundlers' the street brokers, the unsavory side of MBB in order to land the best players

I think it stems from the Deon Thomas case where Bruce Pearl revealed his TRUE character...

 

[Jason Svoboda]

I keep thinking the same thing about DePaul. Yet it doesn't get better. They wasted 4 years of Billy Garrett Jr.

Man, that is a really good point. DePaul has to be a case of poor management and organizational culture, no?

Big city, big time conference, rich basketball history, rich basketball recruiting base, and they actually pay their head coach big time money. If i recall correctly, Purnell was making $2.2m per year when he was at DePaul. Then they rehire Leitao? Not sure if he makes nearly as much and I thought I heard on ESPN 1000 that they're getting new digs, too, right?

 

[xfactor9600]

Man, that is a really good point. DePaul has to be a case of poor management and organizational culture, no?

Big city, big time conference, rich basketball history, rich basketball recruiting base, and they actually pay their head coach big time money. If i recall correctly, Purnell was making $2.2m per year when he was at DePaul. Then they rehire Leitao? Not sure if he makes nearly as much and I thought I heard on ESPN 1000 that they're getting new digs, too, right?

Yes. They open up a new "on campus" arena next season. I'm not sure it's on campus. But it does have better mass transit options than Rosemont. Here's a link to their new digs

 

[Jason Svoboda]

Valid argument but just the overall lack of support for ANY Chicago college team (save Northwestern this year) is just downright terrible. That city just refuses to acknowledge college athletics.

While I think that is a tertiary consideration, I don't think it is Top 5 on whether or not a program can win. Their facility only seats 4500 people so that should be their goal in terms of getting Chicago to care.

1) Recruiting - Without the players, nothing else matters. Jimmys and Joes beat Xs and Os.

2) Coaching staff - This one may actually be #3 just because #3 matters to pay for these guys. That said, to win big in college hoops you need the following: A head coach that has great hoops knowledge and feel for the game, a sound offensive/defensive philosophy that he can recruit players to want to play in and charisma to sell his vision to young people. I think you need an AHC that is detail oriented and takes care of the minutiae and a couple assistants that are tireless, dynamic recruiters to scour the country.

3) Program spend - You need money to hire and retain #2, to pay for the process of #1, to buy home games to get fans excited and into the building and all of the other goodies that money provides.

4) Recruiting base - Chicago, as has been said is fertile. They're 2-3 hours from several other major hoops regions that routinely pump out talent or have thriving AAU scenes in Indianapolis, Detroit/Flint, Milwaukee, St. Louis, etc.

5) Facilities - You need to have a place where kids can come in and believe they can get to the next level by playing there. That goes from your arena to your locker rooms to your practice facility to your weight room to your recovery facilities, etc.

Like I said, I may flip #2 and #3 because great players can help mask bad coaching, especially in lower level conferences where not all of the teams are loaded with plus talent, plus coaching or have an average or above average mix of both.

 

[bluestreak]

This is only a small detail, but there is hefty fee for coaches to attend these AAU tournaments. I seem to recall that can run $500 or more. Memory may be wrong on the amount but I think I'm close. With a recruiting budget like ours this is a constraint.

 

[4Q_iu]

This is only a small detail, but there is hefty fee for coaches to attend these AAU tournaments. I seem to recall that can run $500 or more. Memory may be wrong on the amount but I think I'm close. With a recruiting budget like ours this is a constraint.

Kinda of ironic that a group called the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) charges $500 (!!) to attend one of their events! Shoot only some courtside tix for the NEBA run that much and I doubt any event outside of the IHSAA Finals except 1970-1997 ran that much as well... cost of doing business...

 

[Jason Svoboda]

Disregard my previous statement.