[Rocketfan]

First, you can't compare the MAVS to anyone, its never a suprise when they blow a 50 point lead because sometimes they revert back to there old ways and forget to play defense. I gotta side with proto on this one....that Tenn team did not deserve a 2 seed and if any other 2 seed fell to the Eagles the game would not have been as close ( Texas, UCLA, Ohio state). In my mind this pairing was just as good as a 13 seed because this team wasn't huge and Winthrop matched up pretty well. While Tenn did beat Florida twice, they lost at HOME in the final month of the season to Arkansas, Kentucky and South Carolina ( thats awful ).

Katz had Florida as the 12 best team coming into last year. Predictions are a dime a dozen.

Bottomline i have heard that certain schools have been rubbed the wrong way by Greg's personality. If you go to this many interviews and can't impress someone enough (to get the job), i think the problem lies with you and not them. College basketball may be full of parity, but i dont think the parity will result in a sweet 16 trip for Winthrop anytime soon.

[Libertine]

Sorry, guys. Proto is right. Just because one CAA school had a miracle run means nothing in terms of the future and the next steps for Winthrop's program. To say that Winthrop was a hair's breadth from the Sweet 16 is more than a little disingenuous and, if the fan base believes that the Sweet 16 is a legitimate goal for this season, then that should be more than enough reason for Marshall to pack his bags for warmer climes.
I'm not trying to knock Winthrop's program or what they accomplished last season. Yes, they were close to breaking through the first round. No, they shouldn't have been a 15 seed nor should Tennessee been a 2 seed. In the end, though, it was the Vols that pulled it out and, even if Winthrop had gotten through, I'm sure Wichita St. might have had something to say about who went on from there.
Of course, all of that is secondary to the point I'm trying to make which is that the CAA is a mid-major conference and the Big South is not, nor will it be anytime soon. I think, as things stand, Winthrop could compete in the CAA on a consistent basis but to just assume out of hand that they would be able to do in the CAA what they've done in the Big South is downright laughable.
Here's the larger point: if Marshall ever wants to take his career to the next level, he must leave Winthrop and Charleston is a great choice for him. Here's why:
* You can argue the RPIs and stats all you want, but the SoCon is considered by the public at large as a better conference than the Big South. A future AD or college prez can sell their alumni better on hiring away the hottest coach in the SoCon much easier than selling them on the guy who dominated the Big South.
* The media stage in Charleston is bigger. Rock Hill/Charlotte may be a larger market but even the U. of Charlotte has a difficult time getting coverage in a city dominated by NASCAR first, the Tar Heels second, the Panthers third and Duke/NC State/Hurricanes after that. Speaking as someone who grew up there, CofC is the darling program of the Charleston media. Yes, you have El Cid and Chuck Southern there but nobody cares. CSU freakin' won the conference in football last fall and they got a whole two stories in the sports section out of the deal.
* If you can recruit at Winthrop and dominate, you know you can recruit at Charleston and dominate.
* The $. Excepting the Herrion era, CofC has a history of basketball dominance. Under John Kresse, the Cougs were a perennial title contender at the the NAIA level. In the early 90's, they moved up to the Transamerica conference (now the Atlantic Sun) and dominated that conference from their first tipoff. Even after moving into the SoCon under Kresse, they were regarded as the singlemost team that you did not want to play in the first round of the NCAAs. That sense of being a dangerous team is long gone now and the boosters will pay big to get it back.

I say all that to say this, CofC is not just a good choice for Marshall, it's the logical choice. I don't know if CofC will see it that way because their last two coaches have been the top assistants at big name programs (Virginia and St. John's), but Marshall is a proven commodity and the proven commodity is always the smart choice.

[givemethemic]

I have been away from the board since Thursday and first of all Smoothie is dead on here... I eat sleep and drink college basketball!!!!! No one is gonna argue that the Big South is a mid-major conference yet.... but WU hands down is in the mix as a solid mid-major team... The last 2 years the Eagles have proved that they can play with the big boys and to say that they can't make a run at the Sweet 16 is just crazy...Marshall continues to play a tough non conference schedule and it is begining to pay off, they played Memphis very tuff this year on the road and we saw the upset win at Marquette early in the season. I am not a big Marshall fan, but the one thing that he does a great job of is gettting his team to play in big time games. They have been through some tuff battles and I can promise that Marshall and the Eagles if given another crack at the Tourney this year will be able to pull off the upset, there credibility with the committee has gotten alot higher... All in all the tourney is so freaking unpredictable that you never know who is going to have that upset run and with that said, I think we should go back to 2000 and on and look at the teams that have made it to the Sweet 16

2000- Gonzaga #10 seed , Seton Hall #10 (That was the year that Cleaves and the Flint boys won the championship)

2001 - Gonzaga #11 seed, Temple #11 seed (That was the last year that Rat face and the DOOKIES have won a National Championship)

2002 - Kent.St #10 seed, Southern Ill #11 seed (That was the year that we had to suffer and watch IU play in the championship game)

2003 - Butler #12 seed (Carmelo was one and done, hard to believe that was 3 years ago)

2004 - Nevada #10 seed, (Last time we went to the Tourney)

2005 - NC.ST #10 seed, Wisconsin Mil #12 seed, (Boy was that a fun tourney my Heels took that one home)

2006 - GMU # 11 seed, Bradley #13 seed, (Gatorbait)

Basically my point is that WU has played better every year that they have been in the tourney and I think that it will pay off the next time they go and we are seeing the trend be that you can make it even if you are a #10 seed or higher..... Just my thoughts...

[LUconn]

No one is gonna argue that the Big South is a mid-major conference yet....

I would argue that. Mid-major really doesn't have a set definition. It's bascially a D1 team that isn't in a BCS conference. So I think that we are a mid-major conference. Just not a good one.

[PAmedic]

you know its SLOW when we have 2 pages arguing over how good WU really is

[SuperJon]

No one is gonna argue that the Big South is a mid-major conference yet....

I would argue that. Mid-major really doesn't have a set definition. It's bascially a D1 team that isn't in a BCS conference. So I think that we are a mid-major conference. Just not a good one.

The Big South is a low-major in basketball. The SoCon is as well. The CAA, the Mountain Valley (I think that's the name), the WCC, those are mid-majors.

[LUconn]

there's no such thing as a low-major. Mid-major is just a term to describe a bball team that isn't in one of the "major" conferences. It really has no other meaning, and even that is pretty wishy washy

Major conferences

The term "mid-major" does not apply to schools belonging to the following six conferences:

* Bowl Championship Series (BCS)
o Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)
o Big 12 Conference
o Big East Conference
+ The University of Notre Dame, otherwise a Big East member, retains its independent status in football.
o Big Ten Conference
o Pacific Ten Conference (Pac-10)
o Southeastern Conference (SEC)

There is much debate as to the status of the following four conferences:

* Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10)
* Conference USA (C-USA)
* Missouri Valley Conference (MVC)
* Western Athletic Conference (WAC)

Traditionally, the A-10, C-USA, MWC, and WAC had been considered above the level of the other four conferences on this list. Due to recent changes in membership in those conferences, as well as the success of the others on this list, many now consider these eight conferences to be part of the same group based on prestige, performance, and national perception.

This list is not static from year to year, as most agree that there are only nine to 11 major conferences during any given year. Those generally all come from this list however, as these are the only 14 of the 31 Division I conferences that regularly have teams advance to the Sweet Sixteen or beyond, regularly challenge for multiple bids per year to the NCAA tournament, have multiple teams "buy" games from lower-ranked conferences, and have all finished in the top 15 in conference attendance every year in the last decade.[1] Many, including college basketball experts, coaches, players and administrators, have agreed that these are just some of the important traits that preclude a conference from being considered a mid-major.
[edit]

Basketball

The term "mid-major" is generally used to describe all of the other 35 conferences not normally considered to be a major conference. However, the term is sometimes only used to label the non-major conferences that consistently produce quality teams. Generally speaking, in college basketball, the remaining 17 NCAA Division I conferences represent the mid-major schools:

* America East Conference
* Atlantic Sun Conference (A-Sun)
* Big Sky Conference
* Big South Conference
* Big West Conference
* Colonial Athletic Association (CAA)
* Horizon League
* Ivy League
* Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC)
* Mid-American Conference (MAC)
* Mid-Continent Conference (Mid-Con)
* Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC)
* Mountain West Conference (MWC)
* Northeast Conference (NEC)
* Ohio Valley Conference (OVC)
* Patriot League
* Southern Conference (SoCon)
* Southland Conference
* Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC)
* Sun Belt Conference
* West Coast Conference (WCC)

Note that a very strong team in a mid-major conference may be effectively a major program; the most notable example of this being Gonzaga of the WCC.

[TIMSCAR20]

All I was saying is that we are acting like Winthrop isn't good enough to stay at because they will NEVER make it to the Sweet 16. How can you be so sure? The examples have been given plus they are competitive with every opponent regardless of level. Memphis, Marquette (they won their tournament for crying out loud). Anyone who thinks that it is easy to do those things have not played division 1 basketball probably. Life on the road is tough period. Going into a major conference team (regardless of what we may think of that team) and winning on their floor is tough and they have done it a few times in the Marshall Era. I am not a Winthrop apologist but it seems like the view of them is not realistic sometimes becasue they are our rival. That team was good enough to make it to the Sweet 16 this year. It didn't happen and truthfully it may not happen but it is not that far fetched to think they could....As far as the CAA, I study that conference on a regular basis and know a few of the coaches in that league personally and I can tell you that all of those teams think Winthrop would be a tough team in that league. They would be a top 5 team for sure. Don't sleep on the CAA. I was saying that well before Mason made their run. ODU was the best team in the State of VA 2004-05 IMHO. Even better than UVA. They have some players in that league. My only point is that Winthrop is competitive and has a shot at the sweet 16. It is not that ludicris to think.

[bigsmooth]

Thank you SCAR!!! finally a person in the know provides insight!!! i disagree with one thing.....UVA was better than ODU last year. but i agree the CAA is quality and winthrop would be right there in the mix. it seems like many on the board hate on good programs, and winthrop is certainly one of them.

[LUconn]

I don't think anybody here is hating on them at all. Nobody is denying that they are good, or that the CAA is good. But the Sweet 16 in another thing all together. I think it's possible. But I think they would have to get the draw of their life. For example, an extremely over rated team in their first round matchup, and pray for an upset of their next round high seed. BUT as I said, it is possible under these circumstances it is still not likely. The proof is in the pudding as that is the EXACT scenario that played out this past tourney and they couldnt get by round 1.

The way I'm looking at it, they're not going to be better than the 1st team that they play, but they're a dangerous team that could win it anyway. The next team after that (depending on seeding, etc.) will not be as good as the first, but will still be a VERY quality team. And I just don't see them pulling out 2 in a row like that anytime soon.

[TIMSCAR20]

OK Luconn put it in perspective a bit. They did have that chance and it didn't happen but lets not pretend like they got blown out. They nearly did what we are talking about. Many teams in sports come close before kicking in the door. I hope they never get the chance to see if they can get to the sweet 16 because personally I love it when Liberty is in as the Big South Rep. That trip to Buffalo was great even though it was a terrible place to spend time in March.

[LUconn]

Right, they could have beaten UT. They were a lucky (lets be honest, it was lucky) shot away from winning. And then they play the weaker Wichita St because of their upset right? No, the shockers went on to beat UT in real life (something that WU obviously couldnt do), and they would have handled WU as well.

[Hold My Own]

I see no reason they cant make it to the sweet 16 but I think it's a lot harder for them to do it then George Mason but that's just me...I think the biggest problem with WU is, I don't believe he'll be able to get a big job like the NC State (where even Scar got an interview) when they become available

[TIMSCAR20]

Just in case you folks don't get internet sarcasm (I prefer SCARcasm by the way when I use it), I turned down the NC State job because it didn't pay as much as Flames Television Network.

[givemethemic]

hahahaha that's a good one SCAR, I will be visting the woman this time next week so I am giving you a weeks notice for lunch... Mark your calendar now... (July 3rd) for lunch in good old Richmond....

[Chris Lang]

I didn't know that blow-up dolls ate lunch. Interesting.

[PAmedic]

OUCH

Lang w/ the shot!

[LUconn]

ZZZING!

[TIMSCAR20]

Well GMTM and the Blow up Doll will have to have lunch without me because I plan on taking off July 3rd. I want a 4 day weekend! I am not gonna spend my July 4th in Richmond.

[givemethemic]

It's ok Lang, I know where you live and I know what you drive....just start looking at all 4 of your tires before start pulling out now!!!!!! I will keep my comments clean, only because I like you Lang... if this was Bitter, he would be dead!!!!

[SuperJon]

Lang, that was awesome. It was probably Top 5 FlameFans Jokes of all time.

[givemethemic]

Let me go on the record and say there is no blow up doll, I will not reveal her name, but she is 24 and graduated from Longwood 2 years ago...

[Chris Lang]

All in good fun, GMTM ... all in good fun.

I'll be here all week ... actually until Wednesday. Don't forget to tip your waitresses.

[A.G.]

Perhaps you need to try PartyPoker.com????

[Brokeback Flamer]

I didn't know that blow-up dolls ate lunch. Interesting.

Is he/she cute? WHere did you get it? ANywhere in town? It gets lonely out here with the sheep