(11-05-2020 06:55 AM)GE and MTS Wrote:  Still, shame on KSU and Jacksonville for being below Bellarmine in their first year in Division I. No matter how great they were in DII (and they were one of the best), everyone should have the better players, coaches, and support in DI than DII.

Uh, not everyone in D-I does. Bellarmine has been a de facto D-I for over a decade now. And I could think of a few other D-IIs as well (our old friends at Southern Indiana come to mind).

By way of but one specific example, I lived in Indianapolis for many years, and, during the last decade, BU was always "more D-I" than IUPUI in pretty much all key facets: as good or better talent (at least in the top half of the roster), a better head coach, more fan support, and better media coverage (to be fair, Indy is a crowded sports market).

If memory serves, in a typical season, BU, as a D-II, would outdrew half or so of the ASUN program in men's basketball attendance.

Chalk it up to being a good school academically, in a college hoops crazy market, the success on the court "snowballing," and having a coach who, in addition to being an amazing marketer for the program, snagged numerous low-to-mid D-I guys who just wanted to play for a winner, be closer to home, etc. Very successful exhibitions against D-Is didn't hurt either (the win at Xavier was great, BU lost on a last-second shot there the next year, and then the Musketeers stopped playing BU).

The Knights will no doubt have a learning curve and take their share of lumps this season, but it's not surprising at all to see the respect they're getting right out of the D-I "gate."