The Jock Strap
with Brian Bruce
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
The many different levels of men's Division I basketball
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"
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"
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
"Beat the Bruce" and the NCAA Tournament
Well, the NCAA Tournament wrapped up on Monday night in San Antonio with the Kansas Jayhawks knocking off the Memphis Tigers, 75-68 in overtime, for the national championship. The Jayhawks brought the title back home to Lawrence for the first time since 1988, when Danny Manning and the Miracles defeated Oklahoma 83-79 in the title game at Kemper Arena in Kansas City.
The drama-filled championship game finished off yet another outstanding NCAA Tournament, which does nothing but continue to grow in importance and popularity.
This year at Ottumwa Radio, we tried something new with our "Beat the Bruce" bracket challenge. We were hopeful that plenty of individuals would sign up for the online bracket challenge, and truly thought it could be an exciting and enjoyable feature on our website.
We were not disappointed. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised with the level of genuine excitement that many people had for the "Beat the Bruce" challenge, from friends of mine around the country, people we're familiar with around southeast Iowa, and faithful listeners that we haven't yet met personally. It was awesome!
Now, I must say, "The Bruce's" early round picks didn't go as planned, and believe me, I heard plenty of heat about the exact number of people that were "beating the Bruce" when I sat in 160th place after the first weekend of The Big Dance. But, I am proud to say that I correctly picked 3 of the 4 Final Four teams (would have had all four if Xavier hadn't laid an egg in the Elite 8 versus UCLA), picked the championship game teams, and picked my beloved Jayhawks to win it all. In the end, I finished 16th, and only 15 people "Beat the Bruce." Not bad, my friends, not bad.
But, any accomplishments I had pale in comparison to what I will refer to as "The Top Three." Finishing first was an Ottumwa grade-schooler, Tristan Boyer. T-dubs topped the list of 224 bracketologists and defeated the second place finisher by 13 points. T-dubs "smack" talk says nothing other than "Hey....I'm just a kid." Yes, it may be true that he will only be in 7th grade next school year, but T-dubs came up with one heck of a memorable performance in our bracket challenge! Congratulations buddy!
Finishing second was none other than local high school student and sports genius Emery Songer. Emery entered the exact same bracket in the Ottumwa High School pool and on the Fox Sports website. His OHS bracket earned him money in the end, and at one point, his Fox Sports bracket was 15th-best in the entire state of Iowa. The thing that has to be pointed out about Emery's bracket is the fact that he correctly picked Davidson to advance to the Elite Eight and lose to Kansas. UNBELIEVABLE! I mean, let's be real. I knew Davidson was an excellent team and thus I picked them to defeat Gonzaga in the first round, and then lose to Georgetown in the second round. Not Emery. The local sports whiz accurately predicted the Wildcats' historic run to the Elite Eight. Incredible. Nicely done, my friend, nicely done. Second place with over 600 accumulated points. Excellent.
And rounding out "The Top Three" was one of "The Bruce's" best friends, Kristine Kelly, who resides in the Kansas City metro area. To all of those macho sports dudes out there who think that there isn't a female alive than can possibly know as much as you do about sports: Kristine proves you wrong. First off, just look at her username on "Beat the Bruce": Sherron Collins is my basketball boyfriend. Now, you have to know a ton about sports to name your bracket after the Kansas Jayhawks backup point guard. You also have to know a lot about basketball to finish third out of 224 contestants. Don't talk to me about luck. Kristine has the skills to pay the bills (and now she has a Motorola Blue Tooth hands-free cell phone speaker as well)! Ms. Kelly's triumphant result in "Beat the Bruce" capped off an incredible March Madness season for the KU graduate and lifelong Kansas basketball fan, as she was in Lawrence to witness her 'Hawks defeat UNC and Memphis to earn the national title for the first time since 1988, as well as entering her same "Beat the Bruce" bracket at work in K.C. and taking home money there as well. "Sherron Collins is my basketball boyfriend" came up big, just like the real-life Sherron "Big Hustle" Collins and his Jayhawk brethren did in San Antonio. Awesome job Kristine!
That's it for now, friends. Thanks for all of the interest in and excitement for "Beat the Bruce," and I truly hope you enjoyed the 2008 edition of The Big Dance as much as I did.
I'll check in with you again soon.
OUT.
"The Bruce"
The drama-filled championship game finished off yet another outstanding NCAA Tournament, which does nothing but continue to grow in importance and popularity.
This year at Ottumwa Radio, we tried something new with our "Beat the Bruce" bracket challenge. We were hopeful that plenty of individuals would sign up for the online bracket challenge, and truly thought it could be an exciting and enjoyable feature on our website.
We were not disappointed. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised with the level of genuine excitement that many people had for the "Beat the Bruce" challenge, from friends of mine around the country, people we're familiar with around southeast Iowa, and faithful listeners that we haven't yet met personally. It was awesome!
Now, I must say, "The Bruce's" early round picks didn't go as planned, and believe me, I heard plenty of heat about the exact number of people that were "beating the Bruce" when I sat in 160th place after the first weekend of The Big Dance. But, I am proud to say that I correctly picked 3 of the 4 Final Four teams (would have had all four if Xavier hadn't laid an egg in the Elite 8 versus UCLA), picked the championship game teams, and picked my beloved Jayhawks to win it all. In the end, I finished 16th, and only 15 people "Beat the Bruce." Not bad, my friends, not bad.
But, any accomplishments I had pale in comparison to what I will refer to as "The Top Three." Finishing first was an Ottumwa grade-schooler, Tristan Boyer. T-dubs topped the list of 224 bracketologists and defeated the second place finisher by 13 points. T-dubs "smack" talk says nothing other than "Hey....I'm just a kid." Yes, it may be true that he will only be in 7th grade next school year, but T-dubs came up with one heck of a memorable performance in our bracket challenge! Congratulations buddy!
Finishing second was none other than local high school student and sports genius Emery Songer. Emery entered the exact same bracket in the Ottumwa High School pool and on the Fox Sports website. His OHS bracket earned him money in the end, and at one point, his Fox Sports bracket was 15th-best in the entire state of Iowa. The thing that has to be pointed out about Emery's bracket is the fact that he correctly picked Davidson to advance to the Elite Eight and lose to Kansas. UNBELIEVABLE! I mean, let's be real. I knew Davidson was an excellent team and thus I picked them to defeat Gonzaga in the first round, and then lose to Georgetown in the second round. Not Emery. The local sports whiz accurately predicted the Wildcats' historic run to the Elite Eight. Incredible. Nicely done, my friend, nicely done. Second place with over 600 accumulated points. Excellent.
And rounding out "The Top Three" was one of "The Bruce's" best friends, Kristine Kelly, who resides in the Kansas City metro area. To all of those macho sports dudes out there who think that there isn't a female alive than can possibly know as much as you do about sports: Kristine proves you wrong. First off, just look at her username on "Beat the Bruce": Sherron Collins is my basketball boyfriend. Now, you have to know a ton about sports to name your bracket after the Kansas Jayhawks backup point guard. You also have to know a lot about basketball to finish third out of 224 contestants. Don't talk to me about luck. Kristine has the skills to pay the bills (and now she has a Motorola Blue Tooth hands-free cell phone speaker as well)! Ms. Kelly's triumphant result in "Beat the Bruce" capped off an incredible March Madness season for the KU graduate and lifelong Kansas basketball fan, as she was in Lawrence to witness her 'Hawks defeat UNC and Memphis to earn the national title for the first time since 1988, as well as entering her same "Beat the Bruce" bracket at work in K.C. and taking home money there as well. "Sherron Collins is my basketball boyfriend" came up big, just like the real-life Sherron "Big Hustle" Collins and his Jayhawk brethren did in San Antonio. Awesome job Kristine!
That's it for now, friends. Thanks for all of the interest in and excitement for "Beat the Bruce," and I truly hope you enjoyed the 2008 edition of The Big Dance as much as I did.
I'll check in with you again soon.
OUT.
"The Bruce"
Archives
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]