D3 vs. D1/D2/NAIA/NCCAA

[Mr. Ypsi]

Good win indeed -- though Bradley played in the CBI, not the NIT.

You're right - I didn't read 'The Valley' website carefully enough.  Never even heard of the CBI - is it legit?

[y_jack_lok]

While I can understand that exhibition games don't count in the tracking done by Rhodes Scholar, I think it's interesting to note what has happened so far in exhibition season.

1) Westminster (MO) beats SIU Edwardsville which is moving up from D2 to D1 by one point, 73-72;
2) Randolph-Macon beats D1 George Mason, a team that won its conference championsip last season and was in the D1 Final Four two or three years back, also by a score of 73-72;
3) St. Mary's (MD) beats D2 Bowie State 82-75;
4) Wash U beats D2 University of Missouri Saint Louis 91-90 in 2 OTs;
5) UW Platteville beats D1 Bradley 84-79.

Not a bad showing.

[Pat Coleman]

Good win indeed -- though Bradley played in the CBI, not the NIT.

You're right - I didn't read 'The Valley' website carefully enough.  Never even heard of the CBI - is it legit?

Ehh, I don't know if I'd go that far. After the NCAA and NIT pick their teams, how many teams are left?

[John Gleich]

Good win indeed -- though Bradley played in the CBI, not the NIT.

You're right - I didn't read 'The Valley' website carefully enough.  Never even heard of the CBI - is it legit?

Ehh, I don't know if I'd go that far. After the NCAA and NIT pick their teams, how many teams are left?

Well, at LEAST two... Bradley and the team that beat them in said championship...!  Yea!  We were the second best of the rest of the rest!

Actually, the CBI looks interesting... LINK TO BRACKETS.  The final was played in a 3 game series... so Bradley played 6 games in the 16 team tournament!

[Mr. Ypsi]

Yeah, it is certainly the rest of the rest!

Still, some pretty big names in there - there's FAR worse D1 teams that Platteville could have conquered!  I'd say UWP and Randy-Mac have done D3 proud.

[Hugenerd]

Yeah, Cincinnati played in the tournament (and lost to Bradley) thanks to Nancy Zimpfer, who has done everything to destroy the cincinnati program since she arrived on the scene.  First, she fired Bob Huggins, then wouldnt sign Andy Kennedy, and because of that they lost all of their recruits.  They could have had Bill Walker and OJ Mayo last year (plus the other good recruits Huggins would have brought in) but instead they have had a crappy team for the last 3 years. I hate when administration gets heavily involved in athletics.

[fcnews]

There is a very fine line, for Administration, between to involved and burying their head in the sand. Similar to the situation at Southeast Missouri State, which will probably end with this program getting the death penalty.

[hickory_cornhusker]

I doubt that SE Missouri State would end up with the death penalty. The NCAA usually tries to avoid giving out the death penalty like the plague. Last time they did it was with SMU football in I think 1987. They haven't been to a bowl game since and they are part of the reason the Southwest Conference collpased. I would think the NCAA will punish severely but the not to the point of the death penalty.

[sac]

Yeah, Cincinnati played in the tournament (and lost to Bradley) thanks to Nancy Zimpfer, who has done everything to destroy the cincinnati program since she arrived on the scene.  First, she fired Bob Huggins, then wouldnt sign Andy Kennedy, and because of that they lost all of their recruits.  They could have had Bill Walker and OJ Mayo last year (plus the other good recruits Huggins would have brought in) but instead they have had a crappy team for the last 3 years. I hate when administration gets heavily involved in athletics.

I'd like proof OJ Mayo would have gone anywhere but USC.

[Wydown Blvd.]

Chat with Mayo where he gives 9-10 college choices:
http://transcripts.usatoday.com/Chats/transcript.aspx?c=100

Cincinnati, OH: O.J., Can you tell us Cincinnati Bearcat fans where your recruitment stands with UC with & without coach Huggins at the University?
O.J. Mayo: Whether coach Huggins is there, Cincinnati is still going to be on my list. I like the university.

Also an article about Mayo mentioning interest in playing for Higgins:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/24/sports/24mayo.html?_r=1&oref=slogin#

[sac]

Chat with Mayo where he gives 9-10 college choices:
http://transcripts.usatoday.com/Chats/transcript.aspx?c=100

Cincinnati, OH: O.J., Can you tell us Cincinnati Bearcat fans where your recruitment stands with UC with & without coach Huggins at the University?
O.J. Mayo: Whether coach Huggins is there, Cincinnati is still going to be on my list. I like the university.

Also an article about Mayo mentioning interest in playing for Higgins:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/24/sports/24mayo.html?_r=1&oref=slogin#

Over a year passed between Huggins leaving Cinci and Mayo committing to USC...........thats drawing a pretty deep conclusion that he'd have ended up at Cinci with Huggins still there.

[Wydown Blvd.]

You asked for proof Mayo would have gone anywhere but USC, so I gave you a list of schools he considered. Of course we aren't Mayo, so we dont know exactly how strong he considered each of the others.

Your proof is the list of schools he was looking at (not to mention his connects with Huggins). I never said he would have went to Cinci. But, he probably thought about K-State for a little bit.

[sac]

There's a big difference between being a school on a kids list, and a kid decommitting and going somewhere else.  Mayo committed to USC before his Sr. season even began.  Thats a long way from Cincinnati almost had him.

[Hugenerd]

I lived in Cincy for 12 years and Huggins recruited those two since they were in 6th grade.  Here is an article saying they would go play for him at UC. 

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4179/is_20060324/ai_n16182529/pg_1

Walker followed him the KSU but Mayo said that if he was going to leave home, he might as well going to a bigger market (that is from something else I heard on local TV a while back).

Here is an espn article with the following quote "The assumption for more than a year was that Mayo would go to Cincinnati if Bob Huggins were still employed there":

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2510229

Here is another article criticizing Zimpfer: "Why now, Mrs. President, when Huggins could (and wanted to) finish out his two-year deal and get his team settled into new territory? Why now, when UC is in the middle of transitioning from Conference USA to the Big East? Why now, when Huggins was about to bring in one of the best recruiting classes ever with Cincinnati's own O.J. Mayo and teammate Bill Walker out of North College Hill High? Pardon me, but this is no Mid-American Conference they're moving to. This is the conference that sent eight schools to the Big Dance last year with high expectations to do the same again. "

http://www.e-sports.com/articles/785/1/Xs-and-Os-Huggs-and-Kisses-Goodbye/Page1.html


There was also word that Michael Beasley would have signed at UC if Huggins were still there, and Beasley did follow him to KSU.  That is a potential class of Mayo, Walker and Beasley that Zimpfer kicked out the door.

If you want I can get you dozens of more links about Mayo wanting to play for Huggins in his home town of Cincinnati, but obviously none of them will say he was committed because Huggins was fired before Mayo's Junior commitment period.  However, even if you dont want to believe that, Walker and Beasley would have definitely played for him at UC as they followed him to KSU.

[sac]

I can concede that Mayo had interest in Cinci and Coach Huggins........but thats still a long bridge between we recruited him to we had him.

Over 1 year in the life of a star eyed 16 year old super phenom prepster is a long a winding road.