Back to the CAA
- Thread starter Gospiders06
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There are very clearly 3-4 programs in the A10 every year we cannot pass: Davidson, Dayton, VCU, St. Louis. Sometimes Rhody is another. Those programs care about winning and do what is necessary to win. We do not. Hence, we do not finish ahead of them in the regular season and we almost never make it to the semifinals (“the final four”) of the A-10 tournament (3 times in Mooney's 15-tournament history).
This is a failed strategy. We are unable or unwilling to do what is necessary to get ourselves to that level, so the likelihood of making the NCAAs from this league is essentially non-existent at this point.
A better idea is to drop down to a league where all or most teams are basically equal and then hope the law of averages kicks in. I would be ok moving to the SoCon.
This is a failed strategy. We are unable or unwilling to do what is necessary to get ourselves to that level, so the likelihood of making the NCAAs from this league is essentially non-existent at this point.
A better idea is to drop down to a league where all or most teams are basically equal and then hope the law of averages kicks in. I would be ok moving to the SoCon.
So you trust Mooney to win in a lower level conference? I don't. Fix whats broken. Its the issues at the school that need fixing, not the A10.
I have given up. We all know Mooney will be here forever. He can’t win in the a10. We have ample evidence. Move to a league that at least gives us somewhat of a chance to make the NCAAs once every decade. It’s a lot better than where we are now.
What was our NCAA tournament entry rate prior to entering the A-10 compared to afterwards?
The only team with an at-large bid chance is Davidson right now. Their chances would go away with a few losses down the stretch. The A-10 is a 1 1/2 bid league at best this year.
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Did you watch when we were in the CAA?
I agree the reason that the CAA was appealing in the past was that it was local.
At one time, it was UR, W&M, JMU, GMU, VCU, ODU...
Now it is just a lesser conference with no appeal...
Definitely better in CAA. But it's due to the program being severely mismanaged over a large majority of our time in the A10. A competent administration and coach could have UR winning in the A10 and making the NCAA tournament regularly.
However there is a guarantee that we don’t win a title in this conference. That’s with the conference getting much worse since we have been in it. We lost all the marquee teams and still can’t win.
Let's compare the ACC, the A-10 and the AE...
Home & Home with UNC, Duke, Louisville, Syracuse would generate more interest than
Home & Home with LaSalle, UMass, Duquesne, Fordham which would generate more interest than
Home & Home with Maine, New Hampshire, Albany, Stony Brook.
But the interest gap between the first two seems much larger than the last two.
So at that point, winning generates interest more than somewhat better opponents.
Home & Home with UNC, Duke, Louisville, Syracuse would generate more interest than
Home & Home with LaSalle, UMass, Duquesne, Fordham which would generate more interest than
Home & Home with Maine, New Hampshire, Albany, Stony Brook.
But the interest gap between the first two seems much larger than the last two.
So at that point, winning generates interest more than somewhat better opponents.
Our kids are mostly playing away A-10 games in almost empty high school gyms as it is.
If we move on from Mooney, get a new coach & give him some time, then all the talk of changing conferences goes away. Just possibly happy days are here again.
With Mooney, all bets are off, nothing will ever change, the conversation continues as long as he is an anchor on our basketball program.
With Mooney, all bets are off, nothing will ever change, the conversation continues as long as he is an anchor on our basketball program.
If we had "leadership" at any level that cared about our basketball program winning things would change. That starts with the BOT, the administration of the school, and the administration of the athletic department. Presently there is no evidence they care beyond not wanting to be winless but mediocre is fine......500 or a few games above .......fills the bill......I mean the attitude of "nice school, nice facilities, nice coaches" is fine to them...it is beyond embarrassing that we are "second fiddle" in Richmond but a "fire" to get us better is MIA. As Alfred Einstein is attributed as saying -
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
By that measure our athletic program is certifiably INSANE!
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
By that measure our athletic program is certifiably INSANE!
Yep as I said the real issues with this program lie far above mooney. He’s just a product of the situation but a product that won’t be changed.
Definitely agree we should be in the best conference possible. We should always be striving to be better.
However, you lose me a little bit on the second part. If you could essentially guarantee me a conference championship every year (and therefore a NCAA birth) like Gonzaga in the early 2000’s in the WCC, I’d take that. Building a championship and winning culture (and ncaa berths) at Richmond is the dream.
Granted, to SpiderMan’s point, dominating s lesser conference is definitely not guaranteed, and therefore we need to improve in the A-10 and look to dominate here.
The A10 is a lesser conference than when we first joined. We've gone backwards in a lesser conference. We are the problem. Anybody that continues to donate and buy tickets to this circus is part of the problem. I'm a tiny little they don't care about me voice but I'm doing my part by staying away and spending my money on my grandchildren.
We had our momentum and missed it. Look at it this way.
We enter A10 and first year make the conference finals, and lose. But make a run in NIT, losing to Syracuse at sold out Robins Center. 2 years later - back in the NCAA tourney with loss to Wisconsin. So 3 years in league - one conference final, and one NCAA appearance. So far, so good. Hire Mooney - 2 years to get back on track, and then by his 3rd year we are 4th in league, then 5th, then we are back in NCAA with back to back appearances and a sweet 16 appearance. All is right in the world. If you just look at our beginning.
First 10 years in the A10.
3 NCAA Appearances.
2 NIT Appearances.
3 A10 tourney finals appearances.
So clearly in the first 10 years, we would argue we were a top half team in the league.
Next 10 years.
3 NIT appearance.
0 A10 finals.
0 NCAA Appearances.
What has changed from the first 10 to the next 10 years? Mainly - just the teams in the A10. But we have added teams that we played against in the A10 - with VCU and Mason, and an even smaller school in Davidson. VCU and Davidson have surpassed us and we struggle to beat Mason.
We enter A10 and first year make the conference finals, and lose. But make a run in NIT, losing to Syracuse at sold out Robins Center. 2 years later - back in the NCAA tourney with loss to Wisconsin. So 3 years in league - one conference final, and one NCAA appearance. So far, so good. Hire Mooney - 2 years to get back on track, and then by his 3rd year we are 4th in league, then 5th, then we are back in NCAA with back to back appearances and a sweet 16 appearance. All is right in the world. If you just look at our beginning.
First 10 years in the A10.
3 NCAA Appearances.
2 NIT Appearances.
3 A10 tourney finals appearances.
So clearly in the first 10 years, we would argue we were a top half team in the league.
Next 10 years.
3 NIT appearance.
0 A10 finals.
0 NCAA Appearances.
What has changed from the first 10 to the next 10 years? Mainly - just the teams in the A10. But we have added teams that we played against in the A10 - with VCU and Mason, and an even smaller school in Davidson. VCU and Davidson have surpassed us and we struggle to beat Mason.
Good point about the SoCon. Probably a more cost-favorable footprint than the CAA or even the Patriot. Wofford and Furman would be good programs to develop rivalries with.
I respect your posts, but that is perhaps the dumbest thing you have said here.
I wouldn't even put that in his Top 10, but to each his own. He put a lot of fairy tale stuff out all year about how good this team is and was going to be. He could have his own Freezing Cold Takes account on here. I mean, he's not 4700 level yet, but that is rarified air that is only inhabited by paid employees of the administration.
Wofford is our best win to date, just saying. We couldn't get them twice in conference and then beat up on the also rans at the conference. Mooney is great at beating up on also rans. We probably could go 16-2 in SoCon as Gilly postulated, maybe that is what he was refencing. He sure as heck couldn't believe that were going to be 16-2 in our league. Who does he think we are, Davidson, VCU, or Dayton.
8legs1dream
Graduate Assistant
Funny thing is 16-2 in the SoCon with a couple decent OOC wins and no bad losses might even get you an honest look from the NCAA's. But fans like 80s would rather we be irrelevant in the highest conference.
S-man, i respect your loyalty to our program and its Leader but this is the bed we've made. Mooney will be Coach for Life.
I would like to see us play in the Final Four Tournament Again.
The only path to doing that is in the CAA, Patriot or SoCon. Maybe the Big South. We need to embrace this.
Chattanooga sitting at #68 in the KenPom, probably looking at a 12 or 13 seed. This is the path for us. Where we belong.
Don't think 06 started this thread seriously advocating for a CAA return, but it has taken legs. Respect differing views, but absolutely ridiculous to my mind.
The Spiders' grand MBB aspiration is to move "forward" by moving "back"? Seems like a defeatist attitude akin to reveling in "competing" as our Administration does. Small thinking.
Be the best team in the best league possible. Not the mindset of Admin unfortunately, but most of the pieces are already in place to make it happen if Spiders had the two C's - commitment and new coach.
The Spiders' grand MBB aspiration is to move "forward" by moving "back"? Seems like a defeatist attitude akin to reveling in "competing" as our Administration does. Small thinking.
Be the best team in the best league possible. Not the mindset of Admin unfortunately, but most of the pieces are already in place to make it happen if Spiders had the two C's - commitment and new coach.
We play 30 games a season and I would have no interest in following a team in some terrible league just so we could win the conference tournament and get a 15 seed to the NCAA tournament and get blowout. I want our team to play the best schedule possible.
BTW, there is Zero chance we are going to drop down to a weaker conference.
Chattanooga beat VCU this year, which is something we appear unlikely to do in two tries. But there's no singularly dominant team in the SoCon year in and year out. We would be a fit geographically, and the last time I was at Wofford I enjoyed it. I would make some of those trips regularly. I don't know where they hold the conference tourney, but it's probably more fun than a trip to Brooklyn, and a lot cheaper. And hey, we might actually win it a few times! Or at least get to the semifinals. Both things that we appear incapable of doing any more in the A-10.
Why such allegiance to the A10? It is most likely a one bid league this year. I guess it is beneficial if the Spiders don’t finish “second” as projected because the second place team is likely a #1 seed in the NIT - hooray.
The A10 can easily become a run of the mill mid-Major if the Big East comes for SLU and Dayton. Perhaps that is what the A10 advocates are hoping, the chance for a Mooney coached team to have success in a reconfigured A10. Of course, the A10 has lost its best teams before and UR wasn’t able to capitalize, but who cares about the past. Patience everyone, the future is bright!
The A10 can easily become a run of the mill mid-Major if the Big East comes for SLU and Dayton. Perhaps that is what the A10 advocates are hoping, the chance for a Mooney coached team to have success in a reconfigured A10. Of course, the A10 has lost its best teams before and UR wasn’t able to capitalize, but who cares about the past. Patience everyone, the future is bright!
OMG no CAA! If want Mooney here for 30 more years so be it. We all know UR presently has all the pieces for A10 b-ball success except one, a legit coach.
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