We might make the tournament this year or next. That has always been the huge mountain to climb and may even be seen as a badge of honor to reach for. It is part of our identity. Heck at this point us potentially making it is a national news type of event and it is mentioned on the BTN all the time. But ones we make it, what is our identity? What comes next? Being just another BB program without any distinction from the rest? Obviously we will celebrate big time but what is next?
So what happens after?
- Thread starter hdhntr1
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Let's keep a close eye on Cubs fans and just do what they do.
Binge drinking of Old Style?
You try to do it again only a little better. It's hard to admit but in the end sports doesn't really have a point. Except a fun past time.
To me, the question then becomes: to what standard do we hold the program? Obviously, right now "making the tournament" is the gold standard since we've never done it before. But once we do, where do we set the bar? Do we expect fairly regular tournament appearances? Do we gun for Sweet 16 appearances? Do we expect the program to start contending not just for tournament berths but Big Ten championships? If we make the tournament once, then go back to a few more years of the NIT or no postseason, is that acceptable?
I'm just rambling, but I would like very much to be faced with this problem in the near future.
I'd suggest that a lot of it will have to do with where CCC's heart is. If - rather than jumping ship - he decides to make this program his own, to make this his legacy . . . then I can't help but believe that the upward arc we're already seeing in recruiting will only continue its path, moving us solidly into the top half of the conference on a more or less annual basis. While there will never be many (if any) five-star guys available to NU, by no means does that preclude contending for Big Ten titles. Exhibit A is Wisconsin; they're never exactly awash in McDonald's All-Americans, yet they seem to do very well year after year with their three and four-star guys -- the same type of players we will be targeting, and conceivably getting, as our national profile grows.
ugh . . . I'm not the type to be loud and obnoxious, but I guess I can work on it?
Yes but the Cubs fans a World Series title to be loud about. Come out Sunday are out yell the Hoosiers and cheer for the Cubs W.S. trophy.
Not my favorite thread, but Villanova, Loyola (of all places), Georgetown, Duke, Marquette and a few other private schools have won NCAA championships. Let's try to be relevant in that conversation as often as we can, if we can get the recruiting breakthrough we need. Getting that first great recruiting class is the next step.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NCAA_Men's_Division_I_Basketball_champions
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NCAA_Men's_Division_I_Basketball_champions
And what I am saying is to some extent we lose our identity in a good way. But what is our new identity?
Our identity is and will be to continue to put together very talented and good basketball team that compete for Big 10 championships and win them and then to make the tourney and advance deep in the NCAA tournaments. This is not rocket science. We are recruiting more athletically talented players, coaching them up (i.e. developing them) and creating an athletic team who can shoot the threes (Lindsey, Law, McIntosh, Falzon, Brown, etc.), who can play inside (Pardon, Skelly, Benson and hopefully, Falzon) and create turnovers (Lindsey, Law, Brown, McIntosh, Gaines, etc.) and get easy transition buckets. Also, our culture is that we will play a lot more exciting and fast pace game than the lumbering game in the 60s coaching styles of UW and MSU. Overall, a new identity of competitiveness, athleticism and toughness is emerging more in every successive game.
Or how about what the football program did after either 1995 or more recently for those of you who think winning random bowls is a bigger deal
I think you raise a good point regarding the current state of college basketball. There is very little for most teams to play for during the season and therefore very little for most fans to become enthusiastic about. I honestly do not know which team wins the conference in any given year, not that anyone seems to care. Is it the regular season champion or the conference tourney champ? Do we really need both? No - but money speaks more than fans or a desire for record-book clarity ever can. All anyone really cares about is the national champion - OK, maybe the final four. Does anyone hang a "Sweet Sixteen" banner? God, I hope not; that would be tacky and pitiful. The regular season is meaningless to the top teams that know they are going to the tourney and to the lower teams that know they are not. Now that 6 or 7 teams from each major conference go to the tourney, conference standings are irrelevant. First or 5th - you are going to the tourney. I used to have season tickets to BB games for many years, but stopped even watching games on TV about 20 years ago. My wife and I are watching again this year - but, it is special because it could mean something to NU. In most seasons, these games mean nothing. Football beware - do NOT increase the playoffs beyond 4 teams.
Then it became about winning a bowl game for many. But after that game was won....
I think winning the conference is definitely the next goal to have rather than making a deep run in the tournament per se. To me, a large part of this is the difference between the excellence required to win over a full season and the excellence required to go deep in tournament play. In a tournament, a pretty good team may advance two or three rounds on the serendipity of match ups and the good luck of being hot at the right time. A team that is good enough to win the conference is one that has demonstrated a full range of skill over a period of time, and if the Cats are good enough to win the conference it will reflect a depth of talent that will last over time and sometimes lead to tournament success.One good tournament appearance does not reflect the overall excellence I would like to see.
Final 4
National Championship
And perennially winning the B1G
see Coach K's plan at Duke (except for this year), and you'll have an idea of what's next