https://www.midmajormadness.com/2018/4/6...-rick-croy

I think CBU will be successful in D1. They’re a good add

Cal Baptist will pass up every non-Saint Mary’s Cali WCC school.

For CBU, the basketball program will probably be middle of the pack for the first few years. It is difficult to recruit in basketball when you are not eligible for postseason. The fans will show up and I am looking forward to seeing what kind of non-conference home schedule they can put together. That was helpful to GCU's early success.

CBU will be good in other sports. The men's soccer team went 17-1-2 last season and should be very competitive right away. Their baseball team is also talented. They have had 17 players picked in the MLB draft since 2010. They have had at least one pitcher picked in the draft every year for the past eight years. This season, they have another pitcher that is expected to be drafted high, which would bring the streak of at least one pitcher in each draft to nine straight years.

How long before CBU is the best D1 program in the city of Riverside?

(05-23-2018 04:32 PM)Brillio Wrote:  How long before CBU is the best D1 program in the city of Riverside?

July 1, 2018. Last year, the CBU men's soccer team played UCR in an exhibition game. CBU won 7-0.

Now let's just get some CBU fans on here.

Excited to have them, great addition. Wonder if SU and CBU will both be in the WCC together some day

I love the addition of Cal Baptist. Great market, great fan base, good tradition at D2 level and a great brand new arena. I know some Aggie fans continually bitch_ and moan about being in the WAC, but the WAC has continued to get better and better. The top half of the conference continues to get better. UTGRV, UMKC, and Chicago State still lag way behind and Bakersfield this last year really sucked in all sports. I like the Utah Valley and GCU conference "rivalries" that are developing. I am glad even with GCUs financial superiority in the conference that they have not been able to really dominant in any sport or pull way ahead of anyone.

It will take a little time but I think within a few years Croy will have Cal Baptist in the upper tier of the WAC.


CBU Midnight Madness (GCU Lite)

(05-27-2018 03:54 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  It will take a little time but I think within a few years Croy will have Cal Baptist in the upper tier of the WAC.


CBU Midnight Madness (GCU Lite)

Meh that's more like "every school lite". Their coach is probably gonna be fired after the first year.

(05-27-2018 08:03 PM)Vaqueronation Wrote:  

(05-27-2018 03:54 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  It will take a little time but I think within a few years Croy will have Cal Baptist in the upper tier of the WAC.


CBU Midnight Madness (GCU Lite)

Meh that's more like "every school lite". Their coach is probably gonna be fired after the first year.

Um. No.

I remember reading up on Croy when Cal Baptist was announced, and he is legit. He also had a stable of D1 transfers redshirting this part season, so I think the Lancers come in poised to compete and finish in the middle of the WAC. 4th, 5th, or 6th place.

Yeah I think Croy will have CBU 5th next season. Croy has a nice group of guys ready to go. I think everyone not named UTRGV CSU UMKC are going to welcome the CBU trip.

Ok I over exaggerated. They'll fire him when the probation is done.

I have them 8th. 9th if chicago st was in a little better situation. So a DII team has D1 transfers coming in. That sounds just like........ other DII teams.

(05-28-2018 01:18 AM)Vaqueronation Wrote:  Ok I over exaggerated. They'll fire him when the probation is done.

I have them 8th. 9th if chicago st was in a little better situation. So a DII team has D1 transfers coming in. That sounds just like........ other DII teams.

I'm not sure CBU will get rid of Rick Croy anytime soon. He had a 82% winning percentage in the D2 ranks (132-29 in 5 seasons). And, he comes from a pretty good coaching tree leaning under St. Mary's Randy Bennett. Croy had CBU winning even before it was announced the school would move up to D1.

2013-14... 24-4 (NCAA DII Tournament)
2014-15... 26-7 (NCAA DII Sweet Sixteen)
2015-16... 26-7 (NCAA DII Tournament)
2016-17... 26-5
2017-18... 28-6 (NCAA DII Elite Eight)

CBU is not nearly as talented as most of the WAC right now. But I think Croy is a very good coach. And, he will have CBU in the middle of the pack in no time.

(05-28-2018 01:18 AM)Vaqueronation Wrote:  Ok I over exaggerated. They'll fire him when the probation is done.

I have them 8th. 9th if chicago st was in a little better situation. So a DII team has D1 transfers coming in. That sounds just like........ other DII teams.

You obviously know nothing about Rick Croy and Cal Baptist. Croy is 132-29 at CBU in five seasons. He has had CBU in the NCAA Tournament all five seasons. He was also head coach at Citrus College, where he was 130-35 and won a state junior college championship. In between he was lead assistant at St. Mary's for three seasons. The team went 80-22 overall, winning two regular-season West Coast Conference championships and making two NCAA Tournament appearances. He is one of the best young coaches in the country.

Cal Baptist is not shy about spending money, as their new $73 million dollar on-campus arena can attest to. CBU has D1 facilities at the D2 level. They are currently the #2 ranked athletic program at the D2 level in the Learfield Director's Cup standings. This is not an athletic program that will just be happy to be at the D1 Level.

UTRGVs coach will be fired long before Cal Baptist coach is fired.

(05-28-2018 03:07 PM)SoCalBobcat78 Wrote:  

(05-28-2018 01:18 AM)Vaqueronation Wrote:  Ok I over exaggerated. They'll fire him when the probation is done.

I have them 8th. 9th if chicago st was in a little better situation. So a DII team has D1 transfers coming in. That sounds just like........ other DII teams.

You have obviously know nothing about Rick Croy and Cal Baptist. Croy is 132-29 at CBU in five seasons. He has had CBU in the NCAA Tournament all five seasons. He was also head coach at Citrus College, where he was 130-35 and won a state junior college championship. In between he was lead assistant at St. Mary's for three seasons. The team went 80-22 overall, winning two regular-season West Coast Conference championships and making two NCAA Tournament appearances. He is one of the best young coaches in the country.

Cal Baptist is not shy about spending money, as their new $73 million dollar on-campus arena can attest to. CBU has D1 facilities at the D2 level. They are currently the #2 ranked athletic program at the D2 level in the Learfield Director's Cup standings. This is not an athletic program that will just be happy to be at the D1 Level.

It'll be awhile to see who's proven right. The wac might not even be around then, but we shall see.

I take a middle road. CBU will be fine. They don't have a Jerry Coangelo behind the scenes working things for them, and they don;t have the same high profile as GCU. But they did well in D-II and they will be competent in D-I if the AD, coaching, and recruiting are decent. The pool of Private school basketball players will be thinner, as the WCC is a far superior choice, and I doubt they are going to have standards down at say the UVU or CSUB level.

But when you get down to it, coaching and recruiting by the coaching staff are the key. The first order of business will be to get competitive with the likes of UC Riverside, Loyola Marymount, Cal State Northridge, Cal State Fullerton, Pepperdine, UC Irvine, San Diego and CSU Bakersfield. I want to see first how they stack up to that group in their own back yard, who are also their primary recruiting rivals. Once they have been around the block a few years, we'll know if they have the potential to truly get beyond them.

As for spending on an arena, that is more for the students than anyone else. The townees are no more likely to show up to a CBU game than a UCR game. But practice and other facilities, if the product on the floor is competitive and looks like fun, will allow them to compete with the Big West and WCC schools for recruits. This comes down to coaching, and I'm in the wait-n-see category about that.

(05-31-2018 01:10 AM)Stugray2 Wrote:  I take a middle road. CBU will be fine. They don't have a Jerry Coangelo behind the scenes working things for them, and they don;t have the same high profile as GCU. But they did well in D-II and they will be competent in D-I if the AD, coaching, and recruiting are decent. The pool of Private school basketball players will be thinner, as the WCC is a far superior choice, and I doubt they are going to have standards down at say the UVU or CSUB level.

But when you get down to it, coaching and recruiting by the coaching staff are the key. The first order of business will be to get competitive with the likes of UC Riverside, Loyola Marymount, Cal State Northridge, Cal State Fullerton, Pepperdine, UC Irvine, San Diego and CSU Bakersfield. I want to see first how they stack up to that group in their own back yard, who are also their primary recruiting rivals. Once they have been around the block a few years, we'll know if they have the potential to truly get beyond them.

As for spending on an arena, that is more for the students than anyone else. The townees are no more likely to show up to a CBU game than a UCR game. But practice and other facilities, if the product on the floor is competitive and looks like fun, will allow them to compete with the Big West and WCC schools for recruits. This comes down to coaching, and I'm in the wait-n-see category about that.

If you go to a game at the Rec Center at UCR, you will be lucky if there are 500 people in attendance. In fact, UCR had 11 home games last season of under 600 in attendance. UCR is concerned because CBU has a venue that they cannot compete with. CBU has the resources and facilities that UCR will never have.

CBU is looking to provide "exciting family friendly entertainment for the Inland Empire community" as they have often stated. Their new arena is not just for the students, although the students do attend in large numbers.

None of these other schools that you mentioned have an arena or the attendance to compare to CBU. Cal Baptist will take that advantage into recruiting. Rick Croy has the same pipeline to Australian talent that St. Mary's has and there is plenty of talent in the Inland Empire. Pepperdine has five players on their roster from the IE. Good high school players will have a D1 option in the Inland Empire in the future.

I am absolutely shocked that anyone would question Coach Croy’s ability or resume. He is legit and is probably one of the more accomplished WAC coaches on day one when Cal Baptist steps on the court for the first time as a D1 institution. Does that mean Cal Baptist will set the WAC on fire? Does that mean they are instantly in the upper echelon of the WAC? No. But if I’m moving up, I want someone like Croy leading the troops. Dude is legit...