[i]Originally posted by dax[/i]@Jun 17 2005, 02:30 AM
[b] shit get me to start making the schedules and i'll get our rpi up d@mnit...i'll schedule Ok State, Texas, UConn, Maryland, Duke, Carolina, Florida, Illinois, and any other team that wants to bring it...I say if we play hard we can kick anyones ass on any given night screw what the other teams think we are GOD [/b]
If you think we would have done better than 2-6 against that lineup of teams last year, then tell Alice I said "hello" to everyone in Wonderland.
It seems that many of our fans would rather us play all road games against national powers than play any home games against less, but we are not in a position where we have to resort to Gonzaga tactics. Temple plays that kind of schedule every year, and how has it worked out for them over the last 10 years? You canāt go into conference play every season with the liklihood that you will be under .500 because you scheduled powerhouse non-conference opponents. It kills your teamās confidence and puts a lot of pressure on them to run the table in conference play to have ANY shot at an at-large bid.
The official/full 2004-05 schedule was released on 8-31-04. I write it on my calendar when it is released each year. Why donāt you new-agers put it in your Blackberries, Palm Pilots or whatever the hell you use to keep up with dates and such stuff.
Why does it take so long to release the schedule? The App. St schedule has already been release and is posted on TBR. They are playing NC State, Wake Forest, and Tenn.
What would the Charlotte 49ers have accomplished if they had scheduled any of the following teams last season?
Gonzaga
Southern Illinois
Pacific
Utah
Vermont
Saint Maryās
Nevada
UTEP
Old Dominion
Northern Iowa
Miami-OH
Creighton
Wichita State
Buffalo
UL-Lafayette (actually, we did play the Cajuns!)
Ohio
Utah State
The answer is that all of those teams finished in the RPI top 50. The point is that you donāt have to schedule exclusively from what is (was) the Super Seven (ACC, Big East, Big 10, Big XII, C-USA, PAC-10, SEC) to have a decent RPI.
And people wouldāve bitched about not playing anyone, run.
Some here have knocked the schedule of the past but here are some numbers to chew onā¦
From the 1999-2000 season through the 2004-2005 season:
Charlotteās average RPI is 50, SOS is 50; non-conference RPI is 75, SOS is 83
1999-2000 - RPI is 57, SOS is 14; non conference RPI is 65, SOS is 46
2000-2001 - RPI is 48, SOS is 77; non-conference RPI is 65, SOS is 88
2001-2002 - RPI is 35, SOS is 16; non-conference RPI is 76, SOS is 51
2002-2003 - RPI is 95, SOS is 41; non-conference RPI is 138, SOS is 73
2003-2004 - RPI is 34, SOS is 58; non-conference RPI is 52, SOS is 102
2004-2005 - RPI is 30, SOS is 99, non-conference RPI is 55, SOS is 141
The schedules for the past two seasons have not been bad for selection purposes.
pcon, part of the answer to your question on why ASUās schedule is complete is simpleā¦ TV. Theyāre not gonna be shown so their dates with non-conference teams can be firm and the conference doesnāt need to worry about trying to figure out TV games for the networks. Should one of the smaller outlets (C-SET, FSN, etc) decide to air a game, the game time is all that likely would change.
Charlotteās problems with announcing in the past has been with C-USA and the networks deciding on who would get the on the ESPN and ABC Saturday/Sunday games. I would imagine that the A-10 is trying to figure out where the 49ers and Saint Louis fit into thier TV package along with some inquiries from ESPN, therefore no conference games are yet set in stone, maybe game dates but not the teams.
I think doing at least a 5-year comparison is more telling. Youāll find out that the RPI for Rhode Island in 04-05 was out of the ordinary (same can probably be said for Saint Louis). 2002-03 and 2003-04 were 20-win seasons at URI. If not for injuries, dismissal of a senior starter, etc., then the Rams would have been contending for the A-10 East title last year.
As for the other Rams in the league, youāll see that Fordham has been steadily rising under the guidance of Dereck Whittenburg. Not saying that they will vy for the league title this coming season, but they will definitely be way ahead of Duquesne and LaSalle.
Speaking of the Dukes and Explorers, thereās little hope for the former while Danny Nee remains coach. The latter would finish .500 or better if Steven Smith returns for his senior season. Weāll know the answer to Smith and LaSalle tomorrow with the NBAās deadline to withdraw from the 2005 draft.
Bona is real question mark. Anthony Solomon has quite a mess to clean up and heās going to JUCO and transfer route to kick start the Bonnies. Their OOC gives them a chance to better last yearās 2-win season, but how much is anybodyās guess at this point.
Not arguing that there is some dead weight in the league. If I were A-10 commish, Iād give Duquesne and LaSalle their marching orders. Bona is a hard call because they have a winning tradition that has been sorely tested by the so-called āWelder-Gateā fiasco that occured under ex-coach Jan van Breda Kolff. If they donāt recover, then the Bonnies have no business remaining in the conference. Fordhamās success under Whittenburg might not survive when heās called to ā$greener$ā pastures, which might be this season or next.
Anyway, subtract three, add College of Charleston for another nearby rival, and Iād be happy.
Ten more days in Conference USA! Atlantic 10 here we come!!!
[i]Originally posted by run49er[/i]@Jun 20 2005, 12:30 PM
[b] If I were A-10 commish, I'd give Duquesne and LaSalle their marching orders. Bona is a hard call because they have a winning tradition that has been sorely tested by the so-called "Welder-Gate" fiasco that occured under ex-coach Jan van Breda Kolff. If they don't recover, then the Bonnies have no business remaining in the conference. Fordham's success under Whittenburg might not survive when he's called to "$greener$" pastures, which might be this season or next.
Anyway, subtract three, add College of Charleston for another nearby rival, and Iād be happy.
Ten more days in Conference USA! Atlantic 10 here we come!!! [/b]
I agree with you about āsubtracting threeā and adding āCharleston for another nearby rivalā, except Iād subtract four (LaSalle, Fordham, St Bonaventure, Duquesne) and also add Old Dominion. Iād limit the conference to twelve members. Then youād have a league that looked like this:
North
St. Louis
Dayton
Xavier
UMass
Rhode Island
Temple
South
St Joeās
George Washington
Richmond
Old Dominion
Charlotte
Charleston