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Post by walkon on Feb 7, 2021 12:10:04 GMT -5
We are the last fan base that should be casting any stones when it comes to facilities. This one is historic and I personally like it. It just presents a glare on television. I would take a glare over an eye sore any day.
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Post by milkoliverwurst on Feb 7, 2021 12:10:26 GMT -5
Just hard to fathom how taking down the preseason picks to finish 1 2 and 3 doesnt count for anything. Yes we lost to a 1 win fordham team. But they shot the lights out. Hit every big 3 down the stretch. La salle still battled to the end. This is a young team, made up of mostly freshman and sophomores with a coach in his 3rd year. Yes we'll prob end the season with a losing record, but you gotta be able to take a step back and see the bigger picture. We're trending in the right direction. Trending in the right direction? Sorry, I just don't see it. I can't live in denial with this team. 3rd year coach who is now playing with his hand picked guys. Guys who either aren't as good as believed or who aren't being coached to their full potential. I can't go with we lost because Fordham "shot the lights out". They did so because of our defensive ineptitude. They did so because we were out of position. And besides, if our (One Win) opponent is playing at a high level, we need to play at a higher level. We need to step up. We we can't do is make excuses for why we just crapped the bed versus one of the worst teams in the A-10 and NCAA D1 in general. The wins against the better A-10 teams are meaningless if we can't win against the worst. I still see the same players making the same mistakes for the 3rd consecutive year. I see players who have regressed. I see no light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. The Ashley Howard era has been a massive disappointment. We're getting closer and closer to the point where a decision will need to be made. Will he be extended or do we start over with a new leader of the basketball program? For me, the answer is becoming more clear.
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Post by GlitterBro #2 on Feb 7, 2021 12:39:09 GMT -5
Here's some perspective...
A guy who was part of a program winning National Championships and in his 3rd year as a full-time head coach had his team less prepared for battle than a guy who spent 11 years as a Fordham assistant and was coaching his 3rd ever game as an interim head coach.
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Post by explorer88 on Feb 7, 2021 12:47:12 GMT -5
Here's some perspective... A guy who was part of a program winning National Championships and in his 3rd year as a head coach had his team less prepared for battle than a guy who spent 11 years as a Fordham assistant and was coaching his 3rd ever game as a head coach. Interesting take. Can’t disagree. To Ash’s defense, a young team smelling themselves was due to come down to reality like yesterday. Some lessons can’t be taught. They must be experienced. My issue is this happens far too often and this point in his tenure. Despite having it being a trap game we should have still overcome Fordham.
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Post by JoeFedorowicz on Feb 7, 2021 13:00:45 GMT -5
The Ashley Howard era has been a massive disappointment. We're getting closer and closer to the point where a decision will need to be made. Will he be extended or do we start over with a new leader of the basketball program? For me, the answer is becoming more clear. You guys are out of your minds.
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Post by thelasallelunatic on Feb 7, 2021 14:08:05 GMT -5
It's one thing if a team is sleep walking, gets buried in the 1st half, and comes out awake in the 2nd half, faces a game opponent, yet takes a lead and gets away with a win. That is a wake up call. This team didn't cover the second half spread. They didn't put Fordham on the ropes. Many teams get caught sleeping against a lesser opponent. Most of them, or vs. Fordham nearly all of them, end up getting a lesson in the form of a come from behind close win. The fact that it never got close is concerning.
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Post by milkoliverwurst on Feb 7, 2021 14:16:25 GMT -5
The Ashley Howard era has been a massive disappointment. We're getting closer and closer to the point where a decision will need to be made. Will he be extended or do we start over with a new leader of the basketball program? For me, the answer is becoming more clear. You guys are out of your minds. Out of our minds. Okay. What's your take? They have another subpar season and we extend him 5 more years with the hope he can become the next John Giannini?
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Post by JoeFedorowicz on Feb 7, 2021 14:41:44 GMT -5
I think we can make that distinction after next season.
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Post by milkoliverwurst on Feb 7, 2021 14:46:12 GMT -5
I think we can make that distinction after next season. I don't disagree. I'm not calling for anything to happen now. I'm saying we are getting closer to that day when a decision must be made and that from what I've seen to this point it's heavily trending towards Coach Howard not being the long term answer.
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Post by glorydays on Feb 7, 2021 15:11:18 GMT -5
I think we can make that distinction after next season. I don't disagree. I'm not calling for anything to happen now. I'm saying we are getting closer to that day when a decision must be made and that from what I've seen to this point it's heavily trending towards Coach Howard not being the long term answer. Sure. Have to wait until the end of next year. Martin Ingelsby intrigues me.
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Post by victoriouslasalle on Feb 7, 2021 16:22:24 GMT -5
Just hard to fathom how taking down the preseason picks to finish 1 2 and 3 doesnt count for anything. Yes we lost to a 1 win fordham team. But they shot the lights out. Hit every big 3 down the stretch. La salle still battled to the end. This is a young team, made up of mostly freshman and sophomores with a coach in his 3rd year. Yes we'll prob end the season with a losing record, but you gotta be able to take a step back and see the bigger picture. We're trending in the right direction. Trending in the right direction? Sorry, I just don't see it. I can't live in denial with this team. 3rd year coach who is now playing with his hand picked guys. Guys who either aren't as good as believed or who aren't being coached to their full potential. I can't go with we lost because Fordham "shot the lights out". They did so because of our defensive ineptitude. They did so because we were out of position. And besides, if our (One Win) opponent is playing at a high level, we need to play at a higher level. We need to step up. We we can't do is make excuses for why we just crapped the bed versus one of the worst teams in the A-10 and NCAA D1 in general. The wins against the better A-10 teams are meaningless if we can't win against the worst. I still see the same players making the same mistakes for the 3rd consecutive year. I see players who have regressed. I see no light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. The Ashley Howard era has been a massive disappointment. We're getting closer and closer to the point where a decision will need to be made. Will he be extended or do we start over with a new leader of the basketball program? For me, the answer is becoming more clear. Wow, Am I understanding correctly Jellybean, Glitter, Glorydays and of course Milko all ready to axe Ash, or so it seems? Milko obviously, others, frustrated or convinced?
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Post by GlitterBro #2 on Feb 7, 2021 16:31:26 GMT -5
Wow, Am I understanding correctly Jellybean, Glitter, Glorydays and of course Milko all ready to axe Ash, or so it seems? Milko obviously, others, frustrated or convinced? Not ready to yet. Let's see where we are next season. BUT...and the is the big BUT.... I'm wondering whether we belong in the A10. You can blame facilities, enrollment, whatever....but we have not been consistently competitive in basketball in the A10 in 25 years...at some point you have to ask yourself seriously ...can we get there? If not, let's accept what we are and step down a level and be in a league where we can be regularly competitive. I'll get blasted for this...but...look at UMass beating Rhode Island last night without their top two players on the same day we lose to Fordham. Wonder what McCall could do at 20th and Olney... Maybe the answer wasn't to pick an assistant coach. Maybe the answer was to pick someone who had experience as a head coach...
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Post by nyalum on Feb 7, 2021 16:44:49 GMT -5
As an example of just how crazy everything is this season across college basketball, 25th-ranked Drake just lost to 6-12 Valparaiso by 17. Anything can happen this year, especially with no fans in the stands. Yes, losing yesterday was bad, but let's try to keep it in perspective. Get a summary of the Drake Bulldogs vs. Valparaiso Crusaders basketball game www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/game?gameId=401267035via @espn App espn.com/app
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Post by jellybean on Feb 7, 2021 17:14:32 GMT -5
Trending in the right direction? Sorry, I just don't see it. I can't live in denial with this team. 3rd year coach who is now playing with his hand picked guys. Guys who either aren't as good as believed or who aren't being coached to their full potential. I can't go with we lost because Fordham "shot the lights out". They did so because of our defensive ineptitude. They did so because we were out of position. And besides, if our (One Win) opponent is playing at a high level, we need to play at a higher level. We need to step up. We we can't do is make excuses for why we just crapped the bed versus one of the worst teams in the A-10 and NCAA D1 in general. The wins against the better A-10 teams are meaningless if we can't win against the worst. I still see the same players making the same mistakes for the 3rd consecutive year. I see players who have regressed. I see no light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. The Ashley Howard era has been a massive disappointment. We're getting closer and closer to the point where a decision will need to be made. Will he be extended or do we start over with a new leader of the basketball program? For me, the answer is becoming more clear. Wow, Am I understanding correctly Jellybean, Glitter, Glorydays and of course Milko all ready to axe Ash, or so it seems? Milko obviously, others, frustrated or convinced? -1 Show me where I said he should be fired? Why because I "liked" a post. A post where I agreed with 80%. Do you need to agree 100%? Let me make a prediction. I think Ashley will get at least a 2 year extension if not 3 years at some point next year. For lots of reasons.
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Post by glorydays on Feb 7, 2021 17:42:52 GMT -5
I am with JB. I never said I would like him to be fired. I realize that his leaving is a possibility My prediction for this year was that would be mediocre but that we would be trending up..and that next year would be our breakout year. I expect a breakout year next year. Another rerun? Why endure the pain?
A sign of success would be that we hired guys that moved on to bigger programs. At the introduction of Coach Howard, Bill Bradshaw said that we probably wouldn't be able to keep him very long. I hope he is right for the right reasons.
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Post by lasalle69bestever on Feb 7, 2021 23:02:40 GMT -5
I believe the fact that Fordham ran down the clock on almost every possession might have affected us. Both defensively and offensively. We had to play D for almost 30 seconds each possession. It can tire you out and be disheartening when it ends up with a basket or a 3 late in the clock. It also throws off the offensive rhythm. A bad match-up which could have been avoided by pressing early with a of energy. Maybe be able to get a nice lead from the get-go. We did the opposite. They totally got us to play their game pretty much the entire time and then had never-to-be-repeated 3 point accuracy. What a waste of two hours of TV.
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Post by thelasallelunatic on Feb 8, 2021 7:30:43 GMT -5
Yes, an early press would have sped up the game, and also got the lead out of the team's ass.
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Post by victoriouslasalle on Feb 8, 2021 8:17:36 GMT -5
Wow, Am I understanding correctly Jellybean, Glitter, Glorydays and of course Milko all ready to axe Ash, or so it seems? Milko obviously, others, frustrated or convinced? -1 Show me where I said he should be fired? Why because I "liked" a post. A post where I agreed with 80%. Do you need to agree 100%? Let me make a prediction. I think Ashley will get at least a 2 year extension if not 3 years at some point next year. For lots of reasons. Very helpful. Thanks for the clarification.
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Post by victoriouslasalle on Feb 8, 2021 8:19:38 GMT -5
I am with JB. I never said I would like him to be fired. I realize that his leaving is a possibility My prediction for this year was that would be mediocre but that we would be trending up..and that next year would be our breakout year. I expect a breakout year next year. Another rerun? Why endure the pain? A sign of success would be that we hired guys that moved on to bigger programs. At the introduction of Coach Howard, Bill Bradshaw said that we probably wouldn't be able to keep him very long. I hope he is right for the right reasons. Very helpful. Thanks for the clarification.
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Post by jellybean on Feb 8, 2021 8:59:33 GMT -5
I am with JB. I never said I would like him to be fired. I realize that his leaving is a possibility My prediction for this year was that would be mediocre but that we would be trending up..and that next year would be our breakout year. I expect a breakout year next year. Another rerun? Why endure the pain? A sign of success would be that we hired guys that moved on to bigger programs. At the introduction of Coach Howard, Bill Bradshaw said that we probably wouldn't be able to keep him very long. I hope he is right for the right reasons. Very helpful. Thanks for the clarification. Apology would be nice. Didn't need to clarify anything because I NEVER said Ashley should be fired.
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Post by coachd on Feb 8, 2021 9:32:22 GMT -5
Here's some perspective... A guy who was part of a program winning National Championships and in his 3rd year as a full-time head coach had his team less prepared for battle than a guy who spent 11 years as a Fordham assistant and was coaching his 3rd ever game as an interim head coach. Do we blame the assistant coaches also, they don't appear to be the motivators needed in certain games this year.
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Post by victoriouslasalle on Feb 8, 2021 10:10:45 GMT -5
Very helpful. Thanks for the clarification. Apology would be nice. Didn't need to clarify anything because I NEVER said Ashley should be fired. No you did not, I really appreciated that you clarified. Please see my intentions here. They were not to accuse you of anything and you certainly would be entitled to this position as Milko is. This was an inquiry. Not sure I should apologize for a question. But helpful for me, that you have now explained what part of this post you did not support. It was not clear. I am sorry if that disturbs you. It was not meant to be offensive . I wrote Wow, Am I understanding correctly Jellybean, Glitter, Glorydays and of course Milko all ready to axe Ash, or so it seems? Milko obviously, others, frustrated or convinced? T here is a question there.
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Post by explorergrad08 on Feb 8, 2021 21:47:53 GMT -5
Going to do a little exercise here, as we approach the St. Bonaventure game.
Mark Schmidt - 1st 7 A-10 Seasons (46-66, .410%) 2-14 6-10 7-9 8-8 (CBI) 10-6 (NCAA) 7-9 6-10
Ashley Howard - 1st 3 A-10 Seasons (19-29 .396%) 8-10 6-12 5-7
Pretty similar. And that's with St. Bonaventure having the A-10 Player of the Year leading the Bonnies to a 10-6 record. A run to an A-10 Tournament title is probably the only reason they made the NCAA's that year. Probably outside looking in if they lose.
Progress isn't linear. If anything, this season should be telling us that Howard and the team can compete against the league's best. Which is a huge positive. Along with the wins over Davidson his first year, St. Bonaventure last year.
The negativity of this group is laughable at times.
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Post by GlitterBro #2 on Feb 8, 2021 22:21:08 GMT -5
Going to do a little exercise here, as we approach the St. Bonaventure game. Mark Schmidt - 1st 7 A-10 Seasons (46-66, .410%) 2-14 6-10 7-9 8-8 (CBI) 10-6 (NCAA) 7-9 6-10 Ashley Howard - 1st 3 A-10 Seasons (19-29 .396%) 8-10 6-12 5-7 Pretty similar. And that's with St. Bonaventure having the A-10 Player of the Year leading the Bonnies to a 10-6 record. A run to an A-10 Tournament title is probably the only reason they made the NCAA's that year. Probably outside looking in if they lose. Progress isn't linear. If anything, this season should be telling us that Howard and the team can compete against the league's best. Which is a huge positive. Along with the wins over Davidson his first year, St. Bonaventure last year. The negativity of this group is laughable at times. Schmidt inherited a horrendously bad team that had gone 1-15, 2-14, and 4-12 in the 3 years prior to him taking the job. He went from 14th to 11th to 8th to 7th to 3rd in the league in his first 5 years. That's a nice upward trending chart. Improvement every year. Another example is Matt McCall at UMass who went from 13th to 12th to 8th to ? (currently tied for 2nd). Improvement every year. Ash has gone from 9th to 10th to ? this season (currently 9th). Can he get to 8th in year 3 like McCall and Schmidt? We'll find out in a few games. Obviously we wait until next year to see, but if we are still flirting with the PIG after year 4, comparisons to Marc Schmidt can go out the window. The negativity you see stems from the inconsistency in the play...beating a Richmond but losing to a Fordham.
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Post by roaddog77 on Feb 9, 2021 2:05:33 GMT -5
I my opinion; Ash had done a good job with the program. When Ash was hired for the job; the program was a mess. Ash building the basketball program in his images. It is difficult to recruited top player to play for LaSalle. The top PA. player going to Penn St. or Villanova. This not the 80's or the 90's that top Philadelphia player come to LaSalle. The problem with college basketball today is player development. That where Ash is great at in developing basketball talent. Ash did it with Jay Wright at Villanova, he will do it at LaSalle. As long the player believed in he philosophy and don't transfer, the program will be back in the glory day.
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Post by explorergrad08 on Feb 9, 2021 10:26:39 GMT -5
Going to do a little exercise here, as we approach the St. Bonaventure game. Mark Schmidt - 1st 7 A-10 Seasons (46-66, .410%) 2-14 6-10 7-9 8-8 (CBI) 10-6 (NCAA) 7-9 6-10 Ashley Howard - 1st 3 A-10 Seasons (19-29 .396%) 8-10 6-12 5-7 Pretty similar. And that's with St. Bonaventure having the A-10 Player of the Year leading the Bonnies to a 10-6 record. A run to an A-10 Tournament title is probably the only reason they made the NCAA's that year. Probably outside looking in if they lose. Progress isn't linear. If anything, this season should be telling us that Howard and the team can compete against the league's best. Which is a huge positive. Along with the wins over Davidson his first year, St. Bonaventure last year. The negativity of this group is laughable at times. Schmidt inherited a horrendously bad team that had gone 1-15, 2-14, and 4-12 in the 3 years prior to him taking the job. He went from 14th to 11th to 8th to 7th to 3rd in the league in his first 5 years. That's a nice upward trending chart. Improvement every year. Another example is Matt McCall at UMass who went from 13th to 12th to 8th to ? (currently tied for 2nd). Improvement every year. Ash has gone from 9th to 10th to ? this season (currently 9th). Can he get to 8th in year 3 like McCall and Schmidt? We'll find out in a few games. Obviously we wait until next year to see, but if we are still flirting with the PIG after year 4, comparisons to Marc Schmidt can go out the window. The negativity you see stems from the inconsistency in the play...beating a Richmond but losing to a Fordham. UMass and La Salle should never be compared. Resources aren't even close to being comparable. Practice facility, arena, administrative support at UMass are lightyears better. Not even close. That program should be in the top 6 every year. Bonaventure and La Salle are similar but fan support & investment are big differences. That school is all in on basketball being a winner, from the students to the alums to the administration. I think La Salle has made strides but needs some breaks to fall the right way. Howard had the best first year of anyone mentioned above. Would you rather have finished 13th the first year to see that upward trajectory you so desire? There has been improvement every year for the Explorers. Wins and losses don't tell the entire story. The first year, the league was down. La Salle took advantage. 8 wins and a 9 seed. Last year, the league was better and it was a very young team. 6 wins and still a 10 seed (not in the play-in game). This year, the league is even better than last year from top to bottom, if not inconsistent. Better wins, some bad losses, but a chance to finish in the top half with a good finish. Again, progress is not linear. If you believe you have someone who can build something at a school like La Salle, you need to allow for time to see it through. And not be impatient.
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Post by explorer88 on Feb 9, 2021 10:40:00 GMT -5
La Salle had breaks fall their way in 2013. They reached the Sweet 16 and did nothing to capitalize on it. Just like they never capitalized on the Lionel Simmons era and just like they never capitalized on the teams that were successful before the arms race in college basketball.
La Salle just doesn't want to put enough resources into being competitive year in and year out. The Bonnies are the closest thing that we can compare. The bottom line is Schmidt has kept them more than competitive. We need our coach to do the same given the restraints they would have.
Ash has until next year to convince both administration and fan base if he should be extended. He absolutely should not be extended before then and should not be fired before then. I think 4 years is a fair sample to make an informed decision.
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Post by GlitterBro #2 on Feb 9, 2021 11:17:26 GMT -5
UMass and La Salle should never be compared. Resources aren't even close to being comparable. Practice facility, arena, administrative support at UMass are lightyears better. You are actually making an argument here against us being in the A10 due to resources and administrative support. This is what I said earlier in the thread. There has been improvement every year for the Explorers. Wins and losses don't tell the entire story. The first year, the league was down. La Salle took advantage. 8 wins and a 9 seed. Last year, the league was better and it was a very young team. 6 wins and still a 10 seed (not in the play-in game). This year, the league is even better than last year from top to bottom, if not inconsistent. Better wins, some bad losses, but a chance to finish in the top half with a good finish. You brought up wins and losses. We currently sit in 9th place. A loss tonight moves us to 10th. A St. Louis win over Rhode Island tomorrow moves us to 11th. We are flirting with the PIG this year. We will have to go 4-2 in the remaining 6 games to have a chance to finish in the top half...even that record probably gets us 8th place. I'm not seeing it. Progress may not be linear, but finishing 9th, then 10th, then 9th is kind of a flat line.
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Post by a10champion15 on Feb 9, 2021 11:47:26 GMT -5
I don't think debating the difference between finishing 8th or 10th is really worth it. You could argue the league is better top to bottom this year compared to last. It's been a weird year though.
Next year is an important step. Ash has shown he is a good young coach. He's pretty well regarded around the conference as well. The roster is my concern, it's young and needs to continue to develop. I'm hoping Ash can really elevate the sophomores and freshman's game but that takes time and so does the consistency. Ray and Kenney are much better players now than they were a year ago but they can't do it alone. I think this team needs land an impact player next year. If you replace Beatty and Spencer with a real impact player and your underclassmen continue to develop it changes a lot.
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Post by explorergrad08 on Feb 9, 2021 12:08:00 GMT -5
UMass and La Salle should never be compared. Resources aren't even close to being comparable. Practice facility, arena, administrative support at UMass are lightyears better. You are actually making an argument here against us being in the A10 due to resources and administrative support. This is what I said earlier in the thread. There has been improvement every year for the Explorers. Wins and losses don't tell the entire story. The first year, the league was down. La Salle took advantage. 8 wins and a 9 seed. Last year, the league was better and it was a very young team. 6 wins and still a 10 seed (not in the play-in game). This year, the league is even better than last year from top to bottom, if not inconsistent. Better wins, some bad losses, but a chance to finish in the top half with a good finish. You brought up wins and losses. We currently sit in 9th place. A loss tonight moves us to 10th. A St. Louis win over Rhode Island tomorrow moves us to 11th. We are flirting with the PIG this year. We will have to go 4-2 in the remaining 6 games to have a chance to finish in the top half...even that record probably gets us 8th place. I'm not seeing it. Progress may not be linear, but finishing 9th, then 10th, then 9th is kind of a flat line. I never brought up the A-10 argument. I agree with you. It is going to be an uphill battle to get to the top half of the A-10 consistently without significant changes. Those changes mean many, many millions of dollars in donations or a enormous investment from the University. I'm not sure the latter is possible, given its financial status. I do think administration is trying the best it can to put the men's basketball program in a position to succeed. Many may not agree with the methodology, but dropping varsity sports from 25 to 18 allows a reallocation of resources which should tangentially impact MBB. If you move to the America East, MAAC or Patriot League, that equates to fewer games on television. Less exposure. The opportunity to recruit transfers like B.J. Johnson or freshmen like Jack Clark diminishes greatly. So it's not as simple as "we can't compete", in my opinion. I think there are a lot of variable at play this year. Our winning percentage would suggest we hit 8-10 or 7-11 this year. That's linear movement in a vacuum but we all know that the league is better this year. And if you look at the composition of La Salle's roster compared to most others in the league, there is substantial room to grow if the group sticks together. VCU, St. Joe's & UMass are the only teams with less experience than La Salle. Experience matters in this league. No question there are inconsistencies that are noteworthy. However, the positives this year FAR outweigh the negatives this year, in my opinion. If the team loses its next 6 games, then I'll likely be more inclined to agree with the negativity. But I think 3-3 sounds right and would be a step in the right direction. Again, in my opinion.
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