Coach Mac

[vivid_dude]

What am I wrong about?

Very interested in Mel’s response, since he said I’m wrong and Manny is correct - when Manny and I are saying the same thing. This should be good.

Mel, standing by to learn what I was wrong about. Take your time. I wasn’t wrong, so I’d love to hear why you thought I was.

I’ve got a long list of things you are wrong about. Want me to DM it to you?

No need to DM. Post it here. I’m not interested in how you feel about things. Or whether you like me or not. What are the things I’ve claimed that I was wrong about?

Looking forward to it. Be specific.

[SeattleJay]

Darian Devries is named as a top candidate for UW coaching vacancy in Seattle Times today

Obviously, didn’t know where to put this but he is part of Mac’s coaching tree.

[#RollJays]

8 straight top 4 finishes for Coach Mac in the Big East. Sustained success in a conference that many thought we risked becoming bottom feeders. Not sure any program has leveled up as much as us the last 10 years.

[DC_JAY]

8 straight top 4 finishes for Coach Mac in the Big East. Sustained success in a conference that many thought we risked becoming bottom feeders. Not sure any program has leveled up as much as us the last 10 years.

"Just wait until his son no longer plays there..."

"Just wait until [insert player name here] graduates..."

In the past decade, there is a strong argument to be made that Creighton has become a top-25 program. That's very different than being ranked regularly. It takes into account coaching, recruiting, sustained regular season performance, Tournament performance, attendance, facilities, etc. It's also far harder to achieve in basketball (where there are 350 or so programs) compared to football.

There are certainly some other programs that have leveled up significantly in the past decade (Baylor comes to mind), but I agree with you.

[RyanHolmgren]

I would argue top 15 program. Look at the past five years:

2019-20: In line for a 2 seed, won a share of the Big East title before COVID ended things
2020-21: Sweet 16
2021-22: Big East tourney runner-up (again); nearly upset the eventually national champs with a D-II transfer and four freshmen, losing the BE FOY to injury in February
2022-23: Elite 8
2023-24: In line for a 2-4 seed, TBD…

Looking beyond the last five years, you’ve got perhaps our best team ever that effectively ended with Mo Watson’s injury. You’ve got a consensus national player of the year and top 3 seed. (Blacked out after the NCAA tourney first round, can’t remember what happened.)

Couple that with a handful of draft picks, a top 5-6 attendance annually, etc., I can’t think of 15 programs who can top that. Pretty remarkable for little ol’ Creighton.

[HandDownManDown]

There are pretty easily 15 teams that beat us out. Teams like Arkansas definitely do because they have a much richer history of success on top of being emblazoned as a high major success in peoples minds in a way we haven’t had the time to do yet.

Then there is the resource question. We can crow about our NIL qualities but we aren’t in the B1G or the SEC and these are places that can throw crumbs to their basketball teams and swamp us if they felt like it. NIL is still in its infancy and it remains to be seen how it all shakes out. Frankly I think there’s gonna be a huge wave of money pouring in from all angles over the next few years in those large schools and it all has to go somewhere, and that tidal wave could swamp the entire conference.

[RyanHolmgren]

Over the past 10 years? I completely disagree.

In the past decade, Arkansas has finished 7th, 9th, 9th and 9th in the SEC. It fired a coach. It hasn’t won its conference or conference tournament. It will almost assuredly miss the NCAA tournament this season.

Nice trajectory with Musselman’s recruiting prowess but the body of work can’t touch ours over the past 10 years.

Obviously we’ll never have the rich history of some power conference programs. However, as it pertains to the past 10 years, my original statement stands.

[#RollJays]

There are pretty easily 15 teams that beat us out. Teams like Arkansas definitely do because they have a much richer history of success on top of being emblazoned as a high major success in peoples minds in a way we haven’t had the time to do yet.

Then there is the resource question. We can crow about our NIL qualities but we aren’t in the B1G or the SEC and these are places that can throw crumbs to their basketball teams and swamp us if they felt like it. NIL is still in its infancy and it remains to be seen how it all shakes out. Frankly I think there’s gonna be a huge wave of money pouring in from all angles over the next few years in those large schools and it all has to go somewhere, and that tidal wave could swamp the entire conference.

I can’t think of another school going from mid major to power 6 like us. Obviously, large conference state schools can buy a team if they want to.

[HandDownManDown]

To me, ‘Becoming a top 25 program over the past 10 years’ does not mean anything has to be held to that 10 year standard, it just means that our run over that last 10 years now puts us in the top 25; you’ve become what you are today and that’s not a team that’s beating out an SEC school that has a Natty, and a runner up in the past as well as 2 Elite 8s in the last few years.

If both jobs opened I’d bet you we would be the second choice for coaches.

[Realhoops]

To me, ‘Becoming a top 25 program over the past 10 years’ does not mean anything has to be held to that 10 year standard, it just means that our run over that last 10 years now puts us in the top 25; you’ve become what you are today and that’s not a team that’s beating out an SEC school that has a Natty, and a runner up in the past as well as 2 Elite 8s in the last few years.

If both jobs opened I’d bet you we would be the second choice for coaches.

I think he's just saying that we are one of the top 25 programs over the past 10 years.

If Nebraska suddenly went on a run and made five straight final fours, it'd be hard to argue they weren't a top 25 program in those 5 years. That might not do anything to make them a top 25 program of all time or anything.

I think you two are talking about two different characterizations.

As to whether we'd be second choice for coaches if both Creighton and Arkansas opened up, I am not sure it's as cut and dried as you are suggesting. It might depend a whole lot on whether the candidate is interested in being part of a football school, has history with one school or one conference, etc. If you gave a guy like DeVries or Huss a chance at either at the same time, it might not be as clear cut as it would be if you gave Bobby Hurley a choice of either at the same time.