(07-22-2020 09:00 PM)NJDuke97 Wrote: (07-22-2020 06:55 PM)BleedingPurple Wrote: (07-22-2020 06:06 PM)NJDuke97 Wrote: Some folks may take this the wrong way and I mean no disrespect to players who have worn the uniform even during the last 20+ years when the MBB program has been by in large a failure. I certainly have respect for the teams in the 70s and 80s and early 90s and want things to return to that but it is so far removed that while I get someone saying they want to engage alumni and bring back tradition I think in reality JMU basketball has to chart its own course and start its own traditions and own winning culture.
Even when Rowe would talk about the good old days aside from a few wins and the shot by Culuko those teams while solid kind of underperformed. They weren’t power houses or model teams by any measure. We can do better than that and we should.
Under Lefty, I definitely agree, though they were far from disappointing, they seem to come up just short of expectations. Whole different story under Campanelli. His teams were always overachieving, with the exception of his final two seasons when he'd lost to graduation a whole slew of starters. I have no doubt he'd have brought JMU back to the top of the conference had the Golden Bears not grabbed him up. Out there he took perennial bottom dwellers to the dance and became a nightmare for the Bruins.
Not disagreeing with you and those were the glory years and I know the early Lefty years were great too in terms of the excitement around the program the crowds etc but we are talking about 30-35 years ago. It’s always important to honor and pay tribute to the past but my point is in a new arena in particular JMU MBB under Coach B is a complete blank canvas and I’m excited about that- I don’t need to reminisce about the Convo or Godwin- new arena, new coach, completely new era. Win and you will get alumni who played hoops or followed it to follow this team. If some more recent alum are in the basketball family and can help the program in any way great but there isn’t enough of a recent legacy or culture to point back to- needs to be all new and fresh IMO because it’s been bad or mediocre for so long- long enough that even some of the parents of recruits weren’t old enough for it to register.
Agree and to add; the current game/business of mid-major basketball isn't remotely similar to what it was 15 years ago. Heck even Coach Brady seemed to be behind the times his last 2 or 3 years at JMU. For me, sports history is fun, a "feel good" thing and should be respected but is pretty much useless moving forward.
I've been a "follower" of JMU sports for a least 25 years, mainly because of the CAA and I became a fan/supporter less than 10 years ago but JMU basketball has always been viewed as "under achievers" by fans of peer schools. I believe the thought was "JMU has the pieces to be so much more successful than they are". People attended the JMU CAAT games more because of the band than the product on the court.
I believe the potential ceiling can be pretty darn high. We have a school where kids want to get an education, we have a great social reputation, quality staff, modern infrastructure, a nice college town. The mid Atlantic recruiting pool is strong. We will have a state of the art arena and training facility. Most other sports are consistently successful. I think we have a coach that understands the modern basketball business.
For me, the jury is still out on:
Consistent commitment to MBB by the Administration. Do they buy into the MBB business? Will they invest like they have with FB?
Do the people making decisions understand how and why students attend basketball games?
Fan support. Are we capable of being patient for another 2 or 3 years? This hole is pretty deep.
How long does it take for the "bad taste" to go away in the recruiting world? Making the NCAAT once every 10 or 15 years is not a good selling point to 16 and 17 year old kids.
The one bid CAA is a bad MBB conference and don't see that changing. How do you sell a recruit to play in a CAA type conference where most arena's, home and away are half empty?
In the next 2,3 or 4 years will Coach Byington be able to schedule quality games that can boost our NET and not rely on winning the CAAT?
Success breeds Success. If Coach Byington can get this train rolling, it could be a pretty fun ride. When the roster changes and/or coaches leave, we want to be in the position of reloading instead of rebuilding.