The Jock Strap

I'll tell you what's really annoying and unbelievably frustrating...........Losing your favorite basketball coach to a "more prestigious" or "bigger" program. :(

Recently, I've been struck by that phenomenon twice, with Tom Crean leaving Marquette (my beloved alma mater) for Bloomington, Indiana and Hoosier country, and Keno Davis bolting Des Moines for Providence, Rhode Island.

From the standpoint of coaching being a profession, I, of course, understand why coaches would leave one post in order to make more money and be on a bigger stage somewhere else. In the state of Wisconsin, Tom Crean, despite rebuilding the Marquette program to a yearly level of national relevance, was always second fiddle to Bo Ryan at the University of Wisconsin. Plus, Crean could only make so much money at a private, Catholic institution such as Marquette, while a public institution such as Indiana could and would offer him plenty more.

Meanwhile, with Keno Davis' move to take over the Friars at Providence, again, this makes perfect sense in terms of a business decision. He moves from a Missouri Valley Conference program to a Big East program, and moves from fairly low six figures to seven figures per year. Obviously, good for you from that aspect.

But, and I suppose this post is nothing more than a gripe, but I'm tired of schools and programs that I support being nothing more than feeder schools for bigger programs. Tom Crean does a great job at Marquette, turning the Golden Eagles into a yearly Top 25 team, but as soon as big, bad Indiana finds itself in a lurch, they pick the great coach away from the "little guy" by offering him more prestige and cash.

In the case of Drake, the school hadn't seen really good basketball for at least 30 years. Keno Davis, along with his hard-working players and staff, works a miracle in 2007-2008, and boom, Providence comes calling and Drake supporters are left hoping they can continue on with their recent rise to national awareness.

Personally, I wish more coaches established a personal connection with a school and simply decided to stay because of their relationship with the place, the people in the program, the fan base, etc. I understand coaches' job changes from the business aspect, but I don't understand them at all from a personal aspect.

For example, Tom Crean could have stayed at Marquette forever, been a local folk hero for taking Marquette to the Final Four in 2003 and the tournament almost every year, and continued to make at least one million dollars every year for the rest of his life. Honestly, what's the difference between millions of dollars. To me, if I'm a millionaire, then I'm a millionaire. It's not like I would feel disenchanted making only one million as compared to three million. It's still way more money per year than you would ever need with which to live comfortably.

Also, I ask this question: How in the world can a major Division I program such as Marquette, in the Big East Conference, still be a feeder school for another program? That honestly makes me quite angry. Truth be told, at this stage in history, Marquette's program is at a far higher level than Indiana's is. Granted, Indiana basketball has a great aura surrounding it due to past success, national championships, Bobby Knight, etc. But I'm talking about 2008 and beyond, not 1976, 1981, and 1987.

Anyway, as you can tell, I'm ticked off and frustrated. I don't like losing my coaches to "better" and "bigger" programs, and I truly wish that there was more loyalty from coaches in college basketball.

Get back at me on this subject. I want to hear some different viewpoints.

"The Bruce"