Terrific article by Myron Medcalf on the value of an NCAA tourney run, with evidence from FAU, Butler, VCU, Mason and others.
ESPN Article
ESPN Article
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Yes, some little comments coming out in pre season that are not giving me the warm and fuzzies.yeah, I didn't like hearing Hunt talk about how a difference between Wagner and UR was how much defense was emphasized at Wagner. I cringed a little.
You can hate VCU as much as you want (I do). But you really have to respect the culture. VCU markets the hell out of themselves and expects NCAA bids every year. That is the expectation from the President, to the AD, to the coach, to the fanbase. They speak it out loud and every opportunity they have to speak it.Yes, it's easy to dismiss the talk. But they walk it. and Talk it. And breathe it. And expect it. Stark contrast to our program.
I have never been a huge Hurley guy (any of them). LIving in Connecticut I see plenty now. I never thought Danny was that great a game coach at URI - he out recruited the hell out of the rest of the A10, but had trouble winning a lot of big games.
But, watching him in action over the years - I have grown a bit of an affection. He talks it, and walks it, and backs it up. He is a force and inspires and builds the culture every single day, every interview, etc. He can be annoying, but if he is your coach you know you are not going to settle for mediocrity.
Same thing just watching Dutcher interview at Mountain West media day. Was asked about defense and said every guy they recruit is explicitly explained how it will be emphasized and they will need to be able to play it well to get playing time - so it is not a surprise when they get to practice.
I know, I know, these are big schools and woe is me lil UR, but you need the coach to build and enforce that culture. Our culture - I don't know. Hope to be proven wrong, but let's see it.
I wonder how Hunt would look guarding Wagner's best offensive player from 2017-2018?Wagner was #13 in scoring defense and #339 in scoring offense (#338 in FG% and eFG%, so it wasn't just a slow pace) last year. Virtually any other program is going to not be as extreme as that. Except maybe Richmond in Mooney's first couple of years.
Yep. Me too.yeah, I didn't like hearing Hunt talk about how a difference between Wagner and UR was how much defense was emphasized at Wagner. I cringed a little.
Always? Fully? (Knee, appreciate your politeness there).I'm not always convinced UofR is fully aligned on that strategy,
Yep. Me too.
I would say he is comfortable with where he is and knows exactly what he needs to do to be “good enough”.I don’t think Dick Tarrant’s goal for a season was just to compete. I truly believe Mooney
wants to win, he just keeps things low key because he knows the reality of what he has.
This captures the way I feel as well. Well stated and unfortunately right on point.You can hate VCU as much as you want (I do). But you really have to respect the culture. VCU markets the hell out of themselves and expects NCAA bids every year. That is the expectation from the President, to the AD, to the coach, to the fanbase. They speak it out loud and every opportunity they have to speak it.
What is our organizational expectation at UR. According to our immediate past board president and basketball donor/kingmaker we need to adjust (lower) our expectations. According to our AD, well who knows what his expectation is because he doesn't let us know until he defines it as the end of the season in his post mortem. Our coach has never stated expectations during his tenure unless it some amorphous term, ala "to compete".
We are never going to win s*it on a consistent basis until we have a similar culture to VCU's. We might have good seasons from time to time but our program is never going to be a top tier MBB until you see that alignment and you see us speaking like VCU speaks out loud all of the time. And to me, this is not a Mooney problem, he is a symptom. If we had that culture, Mooney would have been gone a decade ago. Not going to the NCAA's in 4 straight years would have been a fire able offense, no one would have questioned it, it would have just happened because he was not meeting program expectations.
I apologize for saying that this as an alum, but this is just effing pathetic. It embarrasses me that this is what we are athletically. We could be so much more, if anyone in our leadership cared enough to try.
Gkiller that is shocking. Other teams practice harder, and other teams emphasize defense more.
It does seem like our defense got better since moon finally scrapped the match up zone, that was oh so hard to figure out, unless you coached the opponent.