The unofficial online home for fans of the UAB Blazers. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

Charlotte 47
Michigan 102

Go CUSA

WTH happened to Charlotte? They were a pretty decent time in the not too distant past.

Lots of turnover recently, including best players and coaching change - Mark Price is the new coach. Gonna be a tough few years there...

MTSU hangs on to beat (DII?) Alaska-Anchorage 75-72...

(11-26-2015 01:15 PM)Shrack Wrote:  

(11-26-2015 12:59 PM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote:  

(11-26-2015 12:52 PM)Shrack Wrote:  

(11-26-2015 12:31 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  We'll no one should be complaining in March when we are sitting home with a good record. You got what you wanted.

All hail Football. Basketball be damned.

The other option was: No football and only basketball in probably a lateral move league-wise or hoping we get into the MVC. We've gotten screwed with basketball because our football has been terrible and underfunded.

Don't act ridiculous and blame football's existence for basketball being in a bad league.

The lack of football success is the reason why UAB is in a bad league. Blame the lack of football success on who ever you want but that is the truth.

That was my point. Football drives most top tier athletic conferences. Not having football wouldn't somehow magically elevate UAB basketball to another level because there just aren't really many options out there. In that scenario your best hope is the MVC...maybe? That's not much to go on to kill the most loved sport in this state all for an extra at large bid chance. Maybe it would get into the A10 with a miracle.

(11-27-2015 12:34 AM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote:  

(11-26-2015 01:15 PM)Shrack Wrote:  

(11-26-2015 12:59 PM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote:  

(11-26-2015 12:52 PM)Shrack Wrote:  

(11-26-2015 12:31 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  We'll no one should be complaining in March when we are sitting home with a good record. You got what you wanted.

All hail Football. Basketball be damned.

The other option was: No football and only basketball in probably a lateral move league-wise or hoping we get into the MVC. We've gotten screwed with basketball because our football has been terrible and underfunded.

Don't act ridiculous and blame football's existence for basketball being in a bad league.

The lack of football success is the reason why UAB is in a bad league. Blame the lack of football success on who ever you want but that is the truth.

That was my point. Football drives most top tier athletic conferences. Not having football wouldn't somehow magically elevate UAB basketball to another level because there just aren't really many options out there. In that scenario your best hope is the MVC...maybe? That's not much to go on to kill the most loved sport in this state all for an extra at large bid chance. Maybe it would get into the A10 with a miracle.

What is clear is this, most of you only care about football. You only have an interest in basketball because there is a football program. That was made clear on this board a few months ago. And guess what? There is nothing wrong with that. I am on the opposite end, I care more about basketball than I do football. UAB Basketball achieved its best success without a football program. So to say basketball would be up chit creek without a paddle if football didn't exist is simply not a true statement.

That said, I understand the importance of having a football program. I also understand the importance of having a successful football program. And for the first time since establishing football, a solid foundation is finally forming for the program to be successful. And if football going to exist, it needed to be operated and supported properly and all the athletic programs needs it to be successful. No one wanted to see the football program go away. But many of you were ready to disown UAB Athletics if football was not brought back. That was a slap in the face to people who was at the birth of UAB Athletics that started with basketball. I also know many of you became UAB supporters because of football and that's great.

Basketball is going to be fine with or without football because it has been proven so. But since football is here to hopefully stay forever, I hope like hell it becomes successful.

It's not football's fault that we haven't dominated a lousy conference in basketball.

(11-27-2015 03:02 AM)tibber Wrote:  It's not football's fault that we haven't dominated a lousy conference in basketball.

Stop it with your logic and reasoning thinking stuff.
This thread is pretty funny.

I hate this conference in basketball
For why you hate football
We'd be ok without football
It's not football fault
Yes it is, no it it isnt, yes it is, no it isn't
We could be in a better basketball conference right now
But no one called us
For why you love football more than basketball
You football lovers
You basketball lovers
I like turtles
let it go
I'll never let go jack
I hate this conference

(11-27-2015 03:02 AM)tibber Wrote:  It's not football's fault that we haven't dominated a lousy conference in basketball.

And it's not Lucy's fault that Charlie Brown can't kick the football.

Ask not, for whom the Ray faps. He faps for theee.

(11-27-2015 07:48 AM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote:  

(11-27-2015 03:02 AM)tibber Wrote:  It's not football's fault that we haven't dominated a lousy conference in basketball.

And it's not Lucy's fault that Charlie Brown can't kick the football.

Huh?!?! That's totally illogical response. If we have a very good basketball team, there should be absolutely no reason we shouldn't be able to dominate a bad conference. If we were to run the table for the rest of the basketball schedule I guarantee we get a bid even if we lose in the conference tournament. So getting bid is not in Lucy's hands

The fallacy in the "better basketball conference" is that being in a better conference does not guarantee a NCAA bid - far from it - it might mean that a very good basketball team is at best playing in the NIT.

Be careful what you wish for: Take the A-10 for example; the top 10 teams out of 14 have not lost more than one game, and 4 are undefeated. George Washington is undefeated has beat #6 Virginia and South Florida. Dayton is undefeated and has beat Alabama and William and Mary. Massachusetts is 4-1 and owns a 82-65 victory over Clemson; their only loss is Creighton. As MB says the A-10 is a good basketball conference.

The problem is that last year they only had 3 teams - VCU (7th seed) , Davidson (10th seed), and Dayton (11th seed) - who made it into the NCAA Tournament. So that is three bids, fairly low bids at that, out of 14 teams. Had they added UAB and another team last year - extremely unlikely - this year would have been 16 good teams fighting for 3 or 4 bids if the conference is lucky. Do you think UAB would be one of those top 3 or 4 teams or would be one of the other 12 or 13?

So it is old question, would you rather be a big fish in a little pond or a little fish in a big pond. Football or not, we are where we are - and I hope we make the best of it. All we have to do is win.

The Birmingham metro area is a large television market. If we win consistently in both basketball and football, maybe we we can do better than the A-10. Maybe then MB will quit whining - well maybe not.

I am a basketball fan first, but I also realize the landscape has changed since the 80's and very likely will change more in the coming decades. IMO, having an FBS team is a top priority to having a platform to compete at the highest level for all our sports in the future.

(11-26-2015 01:29 PM)Shrack Wrote:  And also, this league is so bad because the top 6-7 teams aren't near as good as they have been the couple years prior to expansion.

-Southern Miss is a literal dumpster fire
-Charlotte is terrible
-WKU, UAB, and UTEP aren't as good as they should be

UAB's projected OOC RPI is 130 for this season and we're complaining about our league. Our RPI has been straight garbage for the last 3-4 years. UAB's OOC RPI last year was something like 300.

UTSA, UNT, FAU, FIU, Marshall, etc can't be helped, but the other teams aren't pulling their weight either.

edit: UAB, WKU, UTEP, Charlotte should all be top 100 in OOC RPI most years but not a single one of those teams are looking like they will this year.

As we criticize the other teams, we've yet to see evidence that the current UAB team is going to pull its weight this year. A win today would be a nice move in the right direction, but thus far we are living on the edge in an extremely mediocre early season competition pool. We are only a few plays away from being 1 and 3 ourselves, with losses to 3 in state schools that no one would confuse with the top 100.

You all are just football lovers and basketball haters.
If it wasn't for football and CUSA we'd be in the Big East by now...or A-10...or MVC....or OVC....are whatever conference Watts talked of but told no one.

I know the original post was said with tongue in cheek however, I believe CUSA has every advantage to be a top 12 basketball conference year in and year out. The formula for a successful program is in the ability to do several things well, for example winning, recruiting, scheduling, good coaching are important to any athletic program.

As bad as those things are in CUSA you can win in CUSA, and its been proven by some very good Coaches, the more successful ones moved on to bigger and better things.
When you win you can recruit better ball players, better ball players helps sustain winning, more winning better recruits which means , yep..more winning.

Now when you WIN and RECRUIT top athletes your program start to experience difficulties with SCHEDULING. We all hear where UAB was being contacted by teams asking to play us, usually at their place with no return game, well you have to take those games when you are losing just for exposure.
But winning, having top level players and good coaches, creates another type of problem, UAB coaches looking for games cannot get their calls returned.

Winning has been terrible for several years in CUSA and winning affects recruiting, which affects coaching which affects stability that gets the coach fired that affects stability, well you see how it snow balls and before long it affects the whole conference.

Now lets take winning consistently , VCU, BUTLER, Wichita state, to name a few probably dont experience the same difficulties in scheduling, because of 2 factors, team and Conference RPI . The fact that the teams scheduling the before listed teams may lose the game matters, but the fact that the loss would be considered a good loss play a factor in the scheduling of the game.

Losing to a CUSA team outside the top 100 is a bad loss, and a bad loss can cost your RPI , which leads to be left out of the tournaments that hurt recruiting that get you fired.
The life blood of any athletic program is recruiting..but you have to have a coaching staff with vision and a plan to win, recruit and schedule.

Start with recruiting UAB the school and basketball program can sale itself to most recruits, it is a name most basketball players know, now whether we get them to sign is another story.
CUSA problem isn't the conference footprint as most of the schools are more similar than dissimilar. CUSA needs a power team, today it appears to be UAB, so CUSA problem is sustaining UAB as flagship ( hence the return of the conference tournament ) and getting other CUSA team competitive in winning, recruiting, scheduling and coaching.

Go Blazer, Rebounder4u wanting to be Rebounder2 again...

(11-27-2015 12:42 PM)ranger1386b Wrote:  

(11-26-2015 01:29 PM)Shrack Wrote:  And also, this league is so bad because the top 6-7 teams aren't near as good as they have been the couple years prior to expansion.

-Southern Miss is a literal dumpster fire
-Charlotte is terrible
-WKU, UAB, and UTEP aren't as good as they should be

UAB's projected OOC RPI is 130 for this season and we're complaining about our league. Our RPI has been straight garbage for the last 3-4 years. UAB's OOC RPI last year was something like 300.

UTSA, UNT, FAU, FIU, Marshall, etc can't be helped, but the other teams aren't pulling their weight either.

edit: UAB, WKU, UTEP, Charlotte should all be top 100 in OOC RPI most years but not a single one of those teams are looking like they will this year.

As we criticize the other teams, we've yet to see evidence that the current UAB team is going to pull its weight this year. A win today would be a nice move in the right direction, but thus far we are living on the edge in an extremely mediocre early season competition pool. We are only a few plays away from being 1 and 3 ourselves, with losses to 3 in state schools that no one would confuse with the top 100.

If you choose, you can see it that way. I see it as being 1 point from being undefeated.

(11-26-2015 12:31 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  We'll no one should be complaining in March when we are sitting home with a good record. You got what you wanted.

All hail Football. Basketball be damned.

If our league is as bad as we all think it is...we'll get what we deserve if we are sitting home in March.

Win the conference. Win the conference tournament.

Should be easy...it's not like we're playing in the Sun Belt.

The time to go basketball only was during CUSA 2.0. We could have been in the MVC or A-10. There was no way for us to get into either one of those leagues, even after our breakout year last year. The toothpaste is outta the tube on that one, and Ray faps with delight.

(11-27-2015 04:30 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  

(11-27-2015 12:42 PM)ranger1386b Wrote:  

(11-26-2015 01:29 PM)Shrack Wrote:  And also, this league is so bad because the top 6-7 teams aren't near as good as they have been the couple years prior to expansion.

-Southern Miss is a literal dumpster fire
-Charlotte is terrible
-WKU, UAB, and UTEP aren't as good as they should be

UAB's projected OOC RPI is 130 for this season and we're complaining about our league. Our RPI has been straight garbage for the last 3-4 years. UAB's OOC RPI last year was something like 300.

UTSA, UNT, FAU, FIU, Marshall, etc can't be helped, but the other teams aren't pulling their weight either.

edit: UAB, WKU, UTEP, Charlotte should all be top 100 in OOC RPI most years but not a single one of those teams are looking like they will this year.

As we criticize the other teams, we've yet to see evidence that the current UAB team is going to pull its weight this year. A win today would be a nice move in the right direction, but thus far we are living on the edge in an extremely mediocre early season competition pool. We are only a few plays away from being 1 and 3 ourselves, with losses to 3 in state schools that no one would confuse with the top 100.

If you choose, you can see it that way. I see it as being 1 point from being undefeated.

Equally valid, Sunshine, since you seem to clearly be a glass half full personality type. ?

But whether 1 and 3, 3 and 1 or 4 and 0, UAB has played mediocre basketball against mediocre competition thus far. I, too, wish the league were stronger, but if it were, then we wouldnt have gone to the dance last year.

Speaking of this years mediocrity, whats your take on William Lee thus far?