Just pointing out a little sour grapery.
Just pointing out a little sour grapery.Actually you're not. The crux of the discussion was coming into the tournament Davidson was getting more credit than they deserved. When they started winning, people gave them credit. You wouldn't even see this thread if one of our trolls didn't dig it up two weeks after it was started. It's always convenient to wait until circumstances change to make your point.
There is a certain irony in how this thread started weeks ago comparing our in-season resume to that of Davidson, and how the developments in the tourney have morphed it into the current comparisons of Davidson to Gonzaga and the contrasts with our own program.
Our in-season resume was more impressive than the Wildcats in everything except final record and RPI - we had more high-profile wins and we beat them. But, the reality is that means nothing. What counts for national recognition is not what you do in the regular season but what you do in “The Big Dance.” Gonzaga was a nobody until they started upsetting higher-profile teams with some regularity in the Tournament. They’ve now used that to advance themselves into the “Hunted” instead of the “Hunter”. Gonzaga is now more often than not the higher-seeded team in their first NCAA game. They have done this despite playing in a lesser league and much like Davidson, did it with smart, focused team-oriented play. Their post-season success has also made it easier to schedule high-profile games in-season. They used the post-season to advance their program.
Davidson has done the same this year. Of course, unless they can do it again, they risk falling back into obscurity much as George Mason has done after their own magical run to the Final Four. But Davidson has a chance to make that leap. It is a goal they can now set for their program. Unfortunately, that’s more than we can say for our own program.
There was a time a few years ago I felt we were only an NCAA win or two away from establishing Charlotte as the next program to use post-season succcess to break from the pack and shed the dredded “mid-major” label. We were playing Cincy, Louisville, Memphis, and Marquette toe-to-toe. We were consistently winning NCAA first round games - 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2001 - and I just felt we were one player short of a breakthrough to the Sweet Sixteen or beyond. But then something happened. Quick first round exits in 2002, 2004, and 2005 were followed by three straight years of not even sniffing the NCAAs. Now our in-county rival has achieved what we haven’t achived in over 30 years - made major noise in the Big Dance.
Am I envious? Sure. Sour grapes. Nope. I wish Davidson well and hope they can find a way to beat Kansas and make it to the Final Four. They play a brand of basketball I love - smart, focused, disciplined, and fun to watch. I wish them much success, except when they play us.
Very talented teams advance in the NCAAs; and smart, well-coached teams advance in the NCAAs. Teams that play the undisciplined style that we’ve evolved into rarely do. Now that Coach Lutz has his new contract, I can only hope that we can begin to play a brand of basketball that can move us forward and get us back to where we were a decade ago - a team seemingly ready to burst onto the national scene. It can be done - Gonzaga has done it, Xavier does it year after year, and now Davidson may be on the brink of doing it. Why not us?
There is a certain irony in how this thread started weeks ago comparing our in-season resume to that of Davidson, and how the developments in the tourney have morphed it into the current comparisons of Davidson to Gonzaga and the contrasts with our own program.Our in-season resume was more impressive than the Wildcats in everything except final record and RPI - we had more high-profile wins and we beat them. But, the reality is that means nothing. What counts for national recognition is not what you do in the regular season but what you do in “The Big Dance.” Gonzaga was a nobody until they started upsetting higher-profile teams with some regularity in the Tournament. They’ve now used that to advance themselves into the “Hunted” instead of the “Hunter”. Gonzaga is now more often than not the higher-seeded team in their first NCAA game. They have done this despite playing in a lesser league and much like Davidson, did it with smart, focused team-oriented play. Their post-season success has also made it easier to schedule high-profile games in-season. They used the post-season to advance their program.
Davidson has done the same this year. Of course, unless they can do it again, they risk falling back into obscurity much as George Mason has done after their own magical run to the Final Four. But Davidson has a chance to make that leap. It is a goal they can now set for their program. Unfortunately, that’s more than we can say for our own program.
There was a time a few years ago I felt we were only an NCAA win or two away from establishing Charlotte as the next program to use post-season succcess to break from the pack and shed the dredded “mid-major” label. We were playing Cincy, Louisville, Memphis, and Marquette toe-to-toe. We were consistently winning NCAA first round games - 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2001 - and I just felt we were one player short of a breakthrough to the Sweet Sixteen or beyond. But then something happened. Quick first round exits in 2002, 2004, and 2005 were followed by three straight years of not even sniffing the NCAAs. Now our in-county rival has achieved what we haven’t achived in over 30 years - made major noise in the Big Dance.
Am I envious? Sure. Sour grapes. Nope. I wish Davidson well and hope they can find a way to beat Kansas and make it to the Final Four. They play a brand of basketball I love - smart, focused, disciplined, and fun to watch. I wish them much success, except when they play us.
Very talented teams advance in the NCAAs; and smart, well-coached teams advance in the NCAAs. Teams that play the undisciplined style that we’ve evolved into rarely do. Now that Coach Lutz has his new contract, I can only hope that we can begin to play a brand of basketball that can move us forward and get us back to where we were a decade ago - a team seemingly ready to burst onto the national scene. It can be done - Gonzaga has done it, Xavier does it year after year, and now Davidson may be on the brink of doing it. Why not us?
And Gonzaga gave the Bobcats the player with the greatest peachfuzz mustache of alltime! Now, if only he could play!