(05-19-2015 04:22 PM)ChicagoOwl (BS 07) Wrote: (05-19-2015 02:35 PM)mrbig Wrote: Anyone go to the San Antonio that just ended? How about the DC event a few weeks ago?
pinging @07owl...
I did go to the DC event. It was very good, I'd guess about 30 people showed up. I didn't get a chance to talk with Coach Langley (she gave a great speech), but I was very impressed with Dr. Karlgaard, Coach Bailiff, and Coach Rhoades.
Some points I remember:
- Dr. K mentioned that nobody was very happy with our 3rd tier tv rights deal with ASN, because they didn't show the games where they were supposed to on several occasions. In DC we encountered that where the game was scheduled to be on, but it wasn't. He made it seem like we were going back to the set up where each school was responsible for its own 3rd tier programming, but not sure that's definite
- Coach Bailiff was super excited about this coming year. I asked him specifically about the defense because of our losses, and he said he wasn't worried because of some of our returning players (like Mouchantaf). He knows we'll have to rely on freshmen more than he'd like to, but he trusts these guys. Also mentioned that he supported Covington in his decision, as much as he would have liked him back. Thinks we have a good shot against Texas. He said he understands sometimes people complain about our academic standards holding us back in recruiting, but he said the worst thing we could do is lower them. He said it's our biggest strength and gets him into any living room he wants.
- Coach Rhoades is also very excited about the coming years and our young prospects. He spoke about how proud he was about Seth Gearhart staying and really buying in and seeing his numbers jump enough to be 2nd team all conference. He seems confident that we can get in the Tournament in the near future.
- Everyone I spoke with realizes this is not an ideal conference for us, but there's only so much that can be done about it right now. Some people I spoke to made it seem like it was a very stressful time when VCU was looking at Coach Rhoades. Another point is that people seemed to recognize that men's basketball is where the real opportunity lies for us in what sports can accomplish for the school. We're consistently making (and winning) bowl games, but it doesn't have the PR value that making the NCAA Tournament does. That's a more attainable goal than the Access Bowl, which would also help our brand.
If I start to remember more, I'll add to this