COBL on the Karl Harris commitment

[Deleted]

cityofbasketballlove.com/2014/10/karl-harris-saw-his-fit-with-la-salle/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

The more I read about Karl, the more I like this pickup. He's a perfect fit for this team.

[MisterD]

Yup. Went from a full roster of 6'5 2 guards to a dearth. On paper, I like it a lot.

[luhoopsfan]

“Atlantic 10’s looking better than the Big East, when you see teams like La Salle, Saint Louis, VCU, Dayton last year, getting into the tournament, and they’ve been real successful,” Harris said. “I think the Atlantic 10 is one of the top three or four conferences in the country.”

If that is how kids start to view college hoops, I think that it's a big plus for us as a program. Kids today don't care about how great the Big East was in the 80s and 90s, that part of history is irrelevant to them. They care about the here and now and I think as of today, the A10 is the best basketball-focused conference out there. The Big East has the TV$ for now, but the A10 has been the better success on the court and i think that if it continues it will resonate with recruits.

I also love Karl's comments about how he could immediately tell that La Salle hoops was a family. That makes me really happy to hear.

[manayunk53]

Yeah that shows that the team has a good culture to it. No Aaric Murray types or anything like that to disrupt the chemistry. That's a credit to G, his staff, his players, and the campus as a whole. Having a culture like that at a time when the conference is doing well is how your program can achieve long-term growth and success.

[23won]

I met him on Friday and he seems like a high quality person. Looking forward to seeing him and I love his desire to improve. You don't see that very often with D1 recruits these days.

[sweat83]

To tell you the truth, I'm not even sure of what teams are in the Big East anymore. I couldn't even tell you what conference Temple is in. The key to the A10 is keeping the team currently in the conference, in tack. Its a great basketball conference with some recognizable coaches in place. It is creating an identity, and I hope all the transitions are on hold for now. Need to keep St. Louis, Dayton, VCU, St. Joes, UMASS et al from being tempted to leave. I kinda wish we still had Butler, but with Brad Stevens gone, who knows if they will ever achieve the same success under another coach, and in another conference.

[coqui900]

I think the A-10 is safe as it is. The only defection that could happen is St. Louis, since they're in a bigger market and might head to a place like the MVC. They have schools of similar profiles (Loyola is essentially a doppleganger) and provides for easier travel. UMass might go if the AAC comes calling for football, but they could just as easily drop football or keep their current MAC arrangement around. I think VCU would have jumped by now.

The A-10 is also really good at finding replacement schools.

The conference has always been good. They've usually always had at-large bids and have always had top level teams (Temple, Xavier, Jammer's Hawks) capable of winning a national title or good Cinderellas like the year Rhode Island got hosed against Stanford in the Elite 8 and Dayton last year and, duh, us two seasons back.

The one thing the conference truly lacks is a good conference championship. The big conferences (ACC and Big East) all feel special. So does The Valley. But ours bounces around every year. This is a shame because in the early days of the conference, they had THE PERFECT system. All rounds up to the Semi-Finals were at The Palestra and the final game was at the home court of the highest remaining seed. That's a perfect sized venue AND gives such a great reward for regular season success.

Championship Week should be another extension of March Madness. But I hate small conference championship games in front of 3,000 people in 12,000 + seat arenas. I went the first year at Barclay's and, aside from VCU's insane following and awesome band, the place was the pits. The best part about college basketball is the atmosphere (the best in American sports, IMO) and most Championship Week formats are in black holes.

But I digress. Excited for this signing.

[a10champion15]

I have absolutely no idea what you guys are talking about. Why would Saint Louis downgrade to the MVC? In terms of expansion if anything the Big East were to expand they probably get considered and perhaps Dayton and Richmond would as well. SJU has slim to zero chance. For the Big East I don't think it is on their mind right now to expand and even if they do there are a number of quality good mid majors still out there the A10 can grab.

For UMass they aren't getting an invite to the AAC. Unless the AAC looses half of its conference which probably won't happen. As the AAC stands right now it is fine but Cincy and UConn days are numbered in that conference. UMass current MAC arrangement is gone come 2015. UMass hasn't figured it out yet but it is most likely the sun belt for their football team. Temple shot itself in the foot joining that conference and I am perfectly fine with that. The A10 is staying as it is for awhile and Davidson was an excellent addition. VCU is probably staying and not on the Big East's radar because they don't really fit in the mold the Big East is looking for. The programs excellent but doesn't fit.

Also while the A10 has changed it's location numerous times for the tournament so has half of the P5 conferences. It is not really an issue at least in my mind. The only thing I don't like is the Pittsburgh choice for a number of reasons.

[cva43]

Why would the Big East expand and have to share revenues? That's less in everyone's pocket.

[a10champion15]

Oct 21, 2014 18:38:43 GMT -5 cva43 said:

Why would the Big East expand and have to share revenues? That's less in everyone's pocket.

I don't think they are going to. I think they are perfectly okay with just having ten and the ten they have are very good programs. Many believe that they should expand. Why would they you ask? Well there is no denying that the league struggled last year. It is difficult for a league that only has ten teams to get more than four teams in. They need league to really perform OOC wise. I would say if they are going to get 4 or more bids they need three teams that are top 25 caliber teams that those bubble teams like Providence and Saint Johns last year can obtain wins of off. I think the league is not moving and I like many hope I am right because if they do the first place they are looking at is the A10. Why is it beneficial? Well bottom line basically the more teams that have success in the tournament pays for the conference.

[MisterD]

I think I disagree with "10 very good programs".

[a10champion15]

Oct 21, 2014 19:48:22 GMT -5 MisterD said:

I think I disagree with "10 very good programs".

I was just saying in general but you're right. However, who would you rather have Fordham or DePaul? The remaining 9 range from decent to excellent.

[MisterD]

Fordham because its only like 40 miles from my house!

And Butler might be a program that was good for a stretch versus a good program. Total mess there right now.

[jetstorm]

Oct 21, 2014 21:31:40 GMT -5 MisterD said:

Fordham because its only like 40 miles from my house!

And Butler might be a program that was good for a stretch versus a good program. Total mess there right now.

Butler is still lots better than Fordham!

[MisterD]

Oh yeah, I know. Our bottom, of which we were not all that long ago a part of, is much, much, much worse than theirs.

[calidelphia]

Gotta say that Karl's comments about coming to Philadelphia resonated. I think the high level of competitiveness and camaraderie between (most) coaches in the Big 5 programs have become a big advantage in recruiting. Also, can't argue that the improvement of the A10 over the past few years, regardless of some programs leaving, has been a boon for teams like us and URI. But, the big factor is team culture and, G, for all his tenable faults has done an excellent job in putting this first. When you don't have a big brand name, a top 3 conference, state of the art arena or an internship to the NBA to offer, you need to have a situation that kids want to be a part of and that means a great team culture. Good to see Karl is about that as well. Excited to see him in the blue and gold.

[manayunk53]

Good points calidelphia. I wonder if the number of recent graduates from La Salle who have found pro teams to play on overseas has been a big recruiting tool also. I don't really know if that's something that's on the radar of a player who hasn't gotten to college yet, but I imagine that for a guy who's not being recruited by the top programs in the country, it might give La Salle a bit of a boost in recruiting.

[coachd]

If Zack or Wright make an NBA roster after this season it would certainly bring positive attention to the program.

[MisterD]

As would winning a national championship.