|
Post by Big D on May 16, 2024 22:25:49 GMT -5
Michael Imariagbe is committed I like this commitment. He is a much needed interior player. This isn’t a shot at AJ because I really did like AJ and would have loved for him to finish his career as a Raider, but I’m more excited about Michael coming in next year than having AJ back. Michael is a more physical and athletic kid than AJ. We lose some height next year going from AJ and Brandon in the paint to Brandon and Michael, but I think Brandon and Michael will be a better defensive combo and better rebounding combo. We have 2 open scholarships left. We really need a good PG and the last scholarship should just go to the best available player the staff thinks they have a shot at. Adding another big would be huge, but I think going best available player is more important than signing a kid just to sign a kid at a certain position.
|
|
|
Post by Big D on May 16, 2024 7:57:34 GMT -5
I think the key for the Valley is they added teams recently (with the exception of UIC) that are going to make a good transition over time. Belmont and Murray State are successful programs with good infrastructure to be good for the long haul. Their rosters just weren’t built for the Valley. As their rosters upgrade so will they, IMO. I think the same thing would happen with Wright State and NKU. It is a much much harder sell to convince a top recruit to come to a 20-30 rated conference than it is for a 10-15 rated conference. The difference in the amount of TV exposure, better preseason tournaments, and better OOC games is a huge selling point.
Like I said earlier, the Valley isn’t the Valley of 10 years ago but neither is the HL. We would have a much better chance to schedule better, possibly get an at large bid, get a better NCAA seed, and advance in the tournament from the Valley. If we got the offer to move there it is a no brainer and as much as Jimmy tried to sell staying in the HL, if Milwaukee got an invite they would accept on the spot too.
|
|
|
Post by Big D on May 15, 2024 23:19:14 GMT -5
In fairness, big d, every one of those seasons with multiple bids included a team or teams no longer in the mvc. I am not sure the league has the firepower as currently constructed to be a multiple bid league. I still think it is a move we should make but it may not be the big upgrade it once was. If you had told me 15 years ago that there would be 4-5 teams picked out of the hl to go to a better conference and we would not be one of them I would have said you are crazier than a loon!! And in equal fairness, if WSU and NKU go to the MVC than do the same comparison to the HL. Remove Valpo, WSU, and NKU from the HL’s NCAA Tournament representation and what do you have left? The MVC isn’t the same conference it once was but it’s still light years better than the HL and it still has the potential to get 2 teams into the dance. The HL has zero chance of that happening.
|
|
|
Post by Big D on May 15, 2024 19:21:21 GMT -5
How is the basketball after MoState leaves? It's better than the Horizon, to be sure, but we're going on what...15 or 16 years since they had an at-large bid? You're essentially running through a tougher conference to get 2 or 3 better spots on the seed line on Selection Sunday - and you're probably spending a few million more per year to just keep up with the Jonese. You wrote several paragraphs of complete bs based off the above statements which isn’t even close to being accurate. “15-16 years since they had an at large bid”. Jesus Christ, Jimmy. Do some basic research before you pull crap out of your butt and try to pass it off as facts. It’s been THREE years since they had an at large bid. In the last 16 years, they have had multiple bids SIX times. More importantly, the MVC has had teams get good seeds AND advance in the tournament. The same cannot be said for the HL. 2007: Southern Illinois, Creighton 2012: Wichita State, Creighton 2013: Creighton, Wichita State 2015: Wichita State, Northern Iowa 2016: Wichita State, Northern Iowa 2021: Loyola Chicago, Drake
|
|
|
Post by Big D on May 15, 2024 6:55:31 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Big D on May 15, 2024 4:21:46 GMT -5
This is what happens when all these kid jump into the portal with no plan. For AJ’s sake I really really hope he got a really nice NIL deal because he just transferred to a shitty losing program on the other side of the country. I don’t like it but I understand when a kid wants to leave to get more playing time or if they are good enough to move to a higher level program. This move makes no sense to me. Looking at the NET, Western Athletic Conference is ranked number 14 for the 2023 - 2024 season, the Horizon League is 20th. In the RPI WSU is number 177 and Cal Baptist is 245. Considering the turmoil at WSU right now, Cal Baptist may be the better team next year. Have to assume the weather will be nicer in Riverside in January. So you are making the argument that going to one of the crappier teams in a better 1 bid conference is a smart move? Cal Baptist is not going to make it to any post season next year. They just aren’t. We might have some turmoil going on here but AJ didn’t make an upgrade in his decision to transfer. He left Wright State assuming he was going to have a lot of great options. He quickly found out that he wasn’t going to get the same type of offers Grant and Tanner got when they left WSU in the past. So at the end of the day, he is moving to the other side of the country to play for a losing team in a 1 bid conference so he could go to a small baptist school with good weather. If that is what makes him happy I wish him well. I think it’s going to end up being a decision that he regrets in the long run.
|
|
|
Post by Big D on May 14, 2024 22:17:15 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Big D on May 13, 2024 20:54:52 GMT -5
Until I hear otherwise am excited at WSU being considered to be in the mix for joining the MVC. Why stop at three teams, the MVC needs to be bold and bring in five teams from basketball schools. There isn’t 5 teams worth taking. It is a stretch to take 3.
|
|
|
Post by Big D on May 12, 2024 7:45:34 GMT -5
Interesting the article lists Wright St first. Of course, it also says Nutter seats 12,000. A few years ago I would have said the MVC would be the dream conference for Wright St. Now, they are just a much better one bid league. Still would be a major upgrade, but realistically doesn't increase post season opportunities much at all unless the tournament expands (actually probably worse, as winning HL tourney is much easier than winning Arch Madness). Would help greatly with scheduling though, and if you do make the tourney, have a chance of a reasonable seed. MVC also hasn't worked out very well for Valpo, or UIC -- but did wonders for Loyola Chicago. The MVC is still the dream conference for Wright State, IMO. It is has been a 1 bid conference lately but it is still a conference that has the possibility of getting 2 bids if their top team doesn’t win their conference tournament. That just isn’t the case for the HL anymore and the divide because even worse if they take another one of our top teams and we keep backfilling with lesser teams. They have a better TV deal. They can schedule better teams and they can recruit better players because of it. I’m pretty sure playing MVC schools and a better OOC schedule would give our attendance a nice boost too. The dream scenario in my mind is for the MVC to add 3 basketball centric teams and try to solidify their conference even more and make scheduling even easier. Since they lost Missouri State they really don’t need to add a school from Missouri to appease them anymore. They could really go all in on expanding more SE and add Bellarmine, NKU, and Wright State. It would add 2 good programs in NKU and Wright State and a team with a ton of potential in Bellarmine. That would also keep their private/public school balance. I’m sure Milwaukee is going all out to try to get an invite. I could see them stealing our invite if the MVC wants to expand their conference boarders and keep their private/public school balance. Milwaukee could also get the invite over Bellarmine if they want a more established school that expands their borders but they loose out on the public/private school balance. Here is a map of the current MVC to see how those schools fit in.
|
|
|
Post by Big D on May 11, 2024 9:04:50 GMT -5
Keep an eye on Milwaukee or UMKC as a potential replacement for Missouri State. UMKC wasn’t willing to make the financial commitment to athletics to get an invite last go around. I don’t think their situation has changed since then. They don’t make much sense besides trying to keep a presence in Missouri. They have crap facilities and would be adding another anchor to the league. The MVC already added UIC recently to keep a presence in Chicago and I think they are quickly realizing adding a crap team to keep a recruiting base is a dumb idea. Milwaukee probably has a really good chance to join the MVC. They have a large university in a good metro area. They just upgraded facilities and have a coach that has them headed in the right direction. Wright State just cannot catch a break timing wise when it comes to MVC expansion. If it wasn’t for our financial setback a few years back, we most likely would already be in the Valley when they expanded one of the last 2 times. If our AD and head coach didn’t just leave, I would have liked our chances now since the schools finances are back on track. I don’t think we will be in the running since we have Brown as our current intermediate AD. Just giving her an intermediate tag is kicking us in the ass. If we would have already hired an experienced AD I think we would be aggressively pursuing that opening in the MVC. I highly doubt Brown is going to do that or even has the juice to get it done. I’ve questioned her qualifications in the AD thread and this is the reason why. If she somehow does get it done, I think it would be beyond obvious that she deserves the intermediate tag removed. It just really really sucks that Bob Grant didn’t stay for another year as our AD and helped us do a real search for his replacement and helped in the transition. It’s just another missed opportunity for us.
|
|
|
Post by Big D on May 7, 2024 16:43:44 GMT -5
Nomera just posted a highlight video of our only signing so far since Sargent took over. That 3 minute highlight video might be every single highlight of his playing career at Norfolk State. He played 12-13 minutes a game and averaged 5 points and under 2 rebounds a game for NORFOLK STATE. Quite honestly, I would have been ok if this was a walk on announcement made a month from now. We have real needs to fill and this is not filling any of them. If this is all Sargent is going to be able to sign as our head coach then we might as well cut out losses and forfeit all of next season and start a real search for our next AD and head coach. This is just pathetic.
|
|
|
Post by Big D on May 7, 2024 13:53:35 GMT -5
Big D just updated Peter Suder’s thread on the recruiting board. We recruited him out of high school. He put up decent numbers at Bellarmine except his 3 point shooting was horrendous. I’m not sure if he is a SG or SF or where he would fit in here. A PG and a couple of PFs seem to be more of a priority to me, but it’s nice to see our coaches are at least recruiting someone. wrightstate.proboards.com/thread/3538/bellarmine-transfer-peter-suder?page=1&scrollTo=115571He is heading to Miami
|
|
|
Post by Big D on May 7, 2024 13:52:36 GMT -5
Heading to Miami
|
|
|
Post by Big D on May 4, 2024 11:38:17 GMT -5
Going after players from one of the worst D1 programs in 2023-2024 is certainly a strategy. If those players upgrade your program you do. We have 5 open spots. Taking the best players from a bad team isn’t a bad strategy. We have had a lot of great players that played on some bad Wright State teams in the past that I would love to have next year. If these guys can contribute, I’m all in on adding them.
|
|
|
Post by Big D on May 2, 2024 6:44:40 GMT -5
|
|