Very interesting article where A10 commissioner, Bernadette, sits down and talks to A10Talk about a variety of things including: thoughts on scheduling alliances and strategies for getting better games scheduled, potential A10 expansion candidates, specialty match-ups to celebrate A10 50th anniversary next season.


As far as scheduling alliances go, I would love for us to have alliances with one or more of these conferences in this order: New Pac 12, AAC, new MWC, WCC, MVFC.

As far as expansion candidates, I think the only two we should entertain the idea of them joining are Charleston and Wichita State

I like that Bernadette is trying to be proactive in thinking about how A10 can position itself as the best mid major conferences in a day-and-age where power conferences are trying to take over (Taking from MWC and AAC). Trying to have more neutral site games or even doing our own MTE are interesting ideas.

a "big" is a 5. Cayo was a forward. that was never a 2 big lineup.

8legs1dream said:

Seriously, nearly every team in the A10 has a guy that fits the bill.

Someone needs to pull their head out of the sand 😏

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well head in the sand is the Richmond athletic department motto so it makes sense. I think me & u 8legs are on ignore anyway.

Free reign....Fire (or Retire) Bennett/Extend Mooney!

spider23 said:

My suggestion, and this would work much better if you were old like most of the guys on this board - or a lot of guys on this board: Print yourself a laminated name tag, and get a lanyard to attach it, get an NCAA graphic, and put your title as NCAA Compliance Officer. Dress Shoes, Grey Dress Pants, Light Blue Dress Shirt. Maybe a notebook and pen, or tablet with an NCAA property sticker. Walk right in like you own the place. If anyone challenges you dress them down immediately and ask for their credentials.

See you inside.

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I was just going to try to get in there posing as a janitor, I like your plan much more 😆

97spiderfan said:

I don't. Only time Mooney really played 2 bigs at once were Grace/Quinn a couple years ago. I wouldn't say that experience has me clamouring for more of the 2 big line up. Beagle to me is more of the ideal big for Mooney, a big man that can operate and distribute out of the high post than is Walz. Walz has his own set of skills though and I really like the interior toughness and strength he will bring.

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spider23 said:

Well, the two big lineups that were very successful both on O and D were Golden and Cayo. As others have pointed out Grace is not a guy that can chase and guard the perimeter. Hoping with the talk of Beagle's quickness he can play some 4 - though not a proven shooter at all.

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I don't really consider Cayo a traditional Spider big. Yes frontcourt & a non shooter for us but he could guard wings defensively and could handle ball a bit too.

But the time it did work was Grace/Golden. We used that big combo down the stetch in A10 tourney and into Iowa game in 22-23'. so it worked at the best possible time. But a small sample and overall I wouldn't say it worked well the other very few times we've seen it under Moon.

idk how much we'll see Beagle & Walz together, probably not a lot. But I'm anticipating more than in the past w 2 traditional bigs mainly because I think those 2 are 2 of our better players and u like to get best players on court more often. u can't force it tho so I agree it will depend on whether Beags can defend the "4"...even tho 3 and 4's no longer exist anywhere on the court!

SFspidur said:

"Individuals other than athletics department staff members and those necessary to conduct a basketball practice scrimmage against outside competition may not be present during such a scrimmage. The institution shall ensure that the scrimmage is free from public view."

Gonna need to Mission Impossible yourself inside, 324.

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My suggestion, and this would work much better if you were old like most of the guys on this board - or a lot of guys on this board: Print yourself a laminated name tag, and get a lanyard to attach it, get an NCAA graphic, and put your title as NCAA Compliance Officer. Dress Shoes, Grey Dress Pants, Light Blue Dress Shirt. Maybe a notebook and pen, or tablet with an NCAA property sticker. Walk right in like you own the place. If anyone challenges you dress them down immediately and ask for their credentials.

See you inside.

97spiderfan said:

I don't. Only time Mooney really played 2 bigs at once were Grace/Quinn a couple years ago. I wouldn't say that experience has me clamouring for more of the 2 big line up. Beagle to me is more of the ideal big for Mooney, a big man that can operate and distribute out of the high post than is Walz. Walz has his own set of skills though and I really like the interior toughness and strength he will bring.

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Well, the two big lineups that were very successful both on O and D were Golden and Cayo. As others have pointed out Grace is not a guy that can chase and guard the perimeter. Hoping with the talk of Beagle's quickness he can play some 4 - though not a proven shooter at all.

VT4700 said:

If there is any position where we lack some defense, I would want it to be on the wing. That is not where most top scorers are. An opposing team can take advantage of you having a lack of a big underneath, or a lack of quickness at the guard spot, but we have those. The wing? Again, I don't see very many 6'7 or even 6'6 type wings we need to worry about this year. I think our guards have proved they can handle guards a little taller than them. And, if not, and we face a taller stud out there, we can do some switching around if we have too.

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I understand your position, and would love to see the tape of this scrimmage. Because we got a first hand report that they had a big guard that bullied us. And the 75% from 2 point range really really really indicates to me that we were getting blown by. Because as you have noted, teams don't shoot mid range any more. Even with Walz and Beagle solid down low, blow bys create a 2 v 1 against them. And I don't think Hunt and Tyne would give up blow bys. So somehow this mid/decent ECU team had dudes at the wing - it would seem.

spiderman said:

are you still thinking Walz and Beagle play much together? based on minutes, I don't think they overlapped at all in the scrimmage.

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I don't. Only time Mooney really played 2 bigs at once were Grace/Quinn a couple years ago. I wouldn't say that experience has me clamouring for more of the 2 big line up. Beagle to me is more of the ideal big for Mooney, a big man that can operate and distribute out of the high post than is Walz. Walz has his own set of skills though and I really like the interior toughness and strength he will bring.

GKiller said:

Student attendance at football has been bad for at least 30-40 years with a few exceptions. Delaware box score indicates lower overall attendance than some other games. Was the crowd worse, is that accurate?

Also re: very good program. I guess it depends on how you define it. We were under Clawson, London and Rocco. Elite even. I'd call us good but you can't just look at JMU leaving and CAA, it's FCS in general. Changed dramatically. Weakened. Have to define us within that new dynamic. We should be doing better imo and we're worse in a weaker field. When was last time we won a playoff game beyond the prelim first round game? Some semantics but a very good program should be doing that imo.

A great win over Delaware tho and that's a step but margin for playoffs is still relatively small. Can't afford a hiccup. Let's see how it plays out.

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In regards to Saturday's crowd it seemed very similar to the last several seasons of home games (very small crowd) which is not really surprising but a little sad considering that the opponent was an undefeated old rival. Delaware did bring a solid group (I sat next to some Hen's fans...nice, knowledgeable folks). At this point I wouldn't be surprised if the stadium was completely empty at kickoff (It's felt that way for a few years honestly). From the Athletic Department's standpoint I'm not sure you could have asked for a better day from the amazing weather and even VA Tech having played on Thursday night and UVA on the road earlier at noon in terms of non-competing local football interest.

spider23 said:

Beagle can be a plus defender at stretch 4 ...

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are you still thinking Walz and Beagle play much together? based on minutes, I don't think they overlapped at all in the scrimmage.

GKiller said:

Check out the preseason all A10 teams. 6-4 to 6’7 big guards or wings r all over them.

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Seriously, nearly every team in the A10 has a guy that fits the bill.

Someone needs to pull their head out of the sand 😏

spider23 said:

I do think - other than the potential lack of wing defenders - we should be pretty solid at other positions. I feel like (based on articles and comments from Mooney) Beagle can be a plus defender at stretch 4 - and though we might lose out on shooting we would pick up some interior scoring and put backs. Also hopeful that Robinson can be utilized for stretches - if he is already a good defender - though have no idea but seems to have the skillset and athleticism to be.

I do hope we can do some switching up the D.

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If there is any position where we lack some defense, I would want it to be on the wing. That is not where most top scorers are. An opposing team can take advantage of you having a lack of a big underneath, or a lack of quickness at the guard spot, but we have those. The wing? Again, I don't see very many 6'7 or even 6'6 type wings we need to worry about this year. I think our guards have proved they can handle guards a little taller than them. And, if not, and we face a taller stud out there, we can do some switching around if we have too.

UR80sfan said:

The coaching staff believes we should have pretty good defense this year, although we might give up more points, because we are going to play at a faster pace than we have in recent years.

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I do think - other than the potential lack of wing defenders - we should be pretty solid at other positions. I feel like (based on articles and comments from Mooney) Beagle can be a plus defender at stretch 4 - and though we might lose out on shooting we would pick up some interior scoring and put backs. Also hopeful that Robinson can be utilized for stretches - if he is already a good defender - though have no idea but seems to have the skillset and athleticism to be.

I do hope we can do some switching up the D.

SpiderTrap said:

I wouldn't reach too much into scrimmages, especially closed door. When it is closed door, it allows coaches to coach differently and try out different things, free from public view. You also have to think as well they are not playing main guys as many minutes as they normally will too - simply out of fear of unnecessary injury.

Now - when its an exhibition, they could do the same thing, but they know when doors open, fans and others watching - they have to try and replicate a game as much as possible. So while they may try a few new things, likely not as much as a closed door scrimmage.

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Isn’t this why we play scrimmage games to gauge our strengths and weaknesses before the season begins. Either we meet our challenges or not!

SFspidur said:

Man, this thread is getting testy.

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Oh boy, totally missed this post . That would have been the FU report as opposed to the follow up. But, considering me as the source I can completely see how that could be misinterpreted haha.

The coaching staff believes we should have pretty good defense this year, although we might give up more points, because we are going to play at a faster pace than we have in recent years.

VT4700 said:

Are there really all these superstar 3s in the A10 though?

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Yes

I think we will see a repat of the 2022 midterm election. The polls predicted a blowout in favor of Republicans. The final tally was a narrow victory by the GOP in the house, with the Democrats retaining control of the Senate. The polls this time are also overstating Republican chances.

These comments are a riot. This is what happens when one only reads the NYTimes.

Good sign we voters are stressing out. And I think most of us who are really worried, anxious, and stressing are Democrats

Following this election is becoming detrimental to my mental health

The Harris campaign is putting out concerns of the possibility that the three Midwest battleground states might not vote as a bloc for her. Even if she wins Pennsylvania, they risk losing Wisconsin and or Michigan to Trump

I was calm-ish until I started reading this article. I had to stop midway (more tiresome & unhelpful polling "theory"), so I jumped to the comments, looking for the usual insightful NYT reader thoughts). They stressed me out!

How can people get themselves so wound up about a federal election when 99% of the decisions which impact your daily life are made at the state or local level?

Can I get wound up about it? American presidential actions have consequences that reach far beyond the 50 states and I think I have a right to be worried about the thought.

Our sense is it's the democrats afflicted with the schizophrenia of fearing the election and craving news about it. Our Republican friends exhibit a healthy insouciance about it all.

This is the funniest of all comments after a NY Times article about polling averages. How many of you are physically ill, because of the fear you have that Trump will win? Migraines over an election, anyone? If you are in that deep, stop drinking the kool-aid and drink some bourbon.

It seems that even people who hate Trump just can't bring themselves to vote for a Democrat so it's hard to see how this ends well. The sinking reality of this is making me physically ill as I get migraines when I am stressed. It's impossible not to care about someting so important.

VT4700 said:

Are there really all these superstar 3s in the A10 though?

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Check out the preseason all A10 teams. 6-4 to 6’7 big guards or wings r all over them.

spider23 said:

You beat me to it. Was thinking the same thing, might need to pull out some type of 1 3 1 to slow things down. Not sure that is in Mooney or Boyden's bag? Definitely played out our worst fears. Need someone to guard the 3.

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Are there really all these superstar 3s in the A10 though?

brooklyn brownstone said:

I'm calling for the 1-3-1 now with quickness up top and to hide one defender in the middle.

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You beat me to it. Was thinking the same thing, might need to pull out some type of 1 3 1 to slow things down. Not sure that is in Mooney or Boyden's bag? Definitely played out our worst fears. Need someone to guard the 3.

urmite said:

Did Navy have that many back in the CAA? I don’t remember that…

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Even the greedy oligarchs of the NCAA give the Academy’s special exemptions. Whose going
to fight their wars if they piss them off?