Grantland Big East preview

[MU Viking]

Fun article about how under the radar but good we are.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/...rting-big-east

[kneelb4zerg]

And a gratuitous shot at Crean, just for good measure. Always nice.

[MU Viking]

Yeah, that part was great too...

[KalkBird]

Tom Crean is generally disliked. I think it is due to his rotten personality

[IWB]

Well, the author is an Ohio State guy, so...

[unclejohn]

Yeah, I have to wonder about the antipathy toward the former MU coach. Hey, from the moment he left and Cottingham hired Buzz, I have been happy about the change. But give the former MU coach his props. He took over a program that was about as bad as it could be. In three years, he had it respectable. In five, Ix4 spent part of the season ranked #1. Granted, it is easier to do at Ix4 than it is a Podunk State, but that is still a major accomplishment. And it appears he did it without breaking any rules. I am not naive. Rules get broken. But the former MU coach does not have a rep for running roughshod over them, and even if he did, he'd have little room to maneuver at Ix4, where the program was already on probation when he came along. And from his tenure at Marquette, it is a pretty good bet that he makes his players go to class. Not such a bad record. Is he a gifted game coach? No, not really. Did he get as much out of his team last year as he should have? Probably not, but upsets happen in the tournament. Outside of the Final Four run, the former MU coach does not have a very good post-season record, but he does get teams to the post-season. Could someone else have done a better job? Probably, but I do not know who that someone is, exactly, and clearly a whole lot of people could have done worse. No, whether you like him or not, and whether you were happy with the way he left Marquette or not, and whether you would give your first born for season tickets to Ix4 or not, the former Marquette coach strikes me as a pretty good hire for Ix4.

[ValiantSailor]

Tom Crean is generally disliked. I think it is due to his rotten personality

IME, in the sports world, people who are generally disliked are generally successful. Just sayin'....

VS

[kneelb4zerg]

I have no antipathy, just find it funny when a national writer realized his limitations. Because he has many of those. And he carries himself like his **** doesnt stink.

[IWB]

The thing that I think is funny is when people talk about lack of success in the NCAAs. You have to get to the Sweet 16 to finish above .500. Everyone wants a Final Four, but only 4 teams make it each year. That's it. So much is put on winning in the NCAAs, but isn't getting there repeatedly an accomplishment?

Let's say Joe Paterno goes to the NCAAs 10 years in a row. He loses 3 times in round one, 5 times in round two and makes it to the Sweet 16 twice. That makes Joe 9-9 in the NCAAs, or .500. Is that good? Is that bad? 10 consecutive trips to the NCAAs, two Sweet 16 appearances. Is that a failure? It just means that Joe isn't in the top 4, top 8 or top 16 in the country every year. Joe could be top 20 every year, just not top 16 - is that a lack of success?

[MUMac]

The thing that I think is funny is when people talk about lack of success in the NCAAs. You have to get to the Sweet 16 to finish above .500. Everyone wants a Final Four, but only 4 teams make it each year. That's it. So much is put on winning in the NCAAs, but isn't getting there repeatedly an accomplishment?

Let's say Joe Paterno goes to the NCAAs 10 years in a row. He loses 3 times in round one, 5 times in round two and makes it to the Sweet 16 twice. That makes Joe 9-9 in the NCAAs, or .500. Is that good? Is that bad? 10 consecutive trips to the NCAAs, two Sweet 16 appearances. Is that a failure? It just means that Joe isn't in the top 4, top 8 or top 16 in the country every year. Joe could be top 20 every year, just not top 16 - is that a lack of success?

Jim, I may be different, but I always looked at the number after the "-" as an indication of success. When I look at MU's overall record, it is after the "-" that is most impressive to me. Only one team get's the "0" there. The rest get a +1. A large number shows a successful program. A large number on both sides shows a very successful program.