Brad Stevens leaving Butler for Celtics

[BillEsq]

So the viability of the league rested with Brad Stevens? That is ridiculous. Obviously it is better for the league and Butler to have him but let' s not get crazy here. Don't you think the fact that Butler put a coach in the NBA makes it a good destination? The fact that Butler is going to get more TV exposure than ever will make it a destination for players and coaches, no? And the TV contract does not depend uopn performance. FOX doesn't cancell it if ratings are down and the Big East doesn't get a raise if ratings are better than expected. There is enough star power in this league to survive the loss of a coach and there is eough playewr talent in the league to survive anything else.

Unless i missed post i'm not sure anyone said that the league wasn't viable anymore. LOL if anyone out there thinks that i want to assure them the sky is not falling. Assuming the worst and Butler suffers the league just takes an RPI hit and moves on. As far as TV exposure getting better coaches... just ask Seton Hall, DePaul, heck UCLA how that has worked out, there are no guarantees with coaches.

[DudeAnon]

Unless i missed post i'm not sure anyone said that the league wasn't viable anymore. LOL if anyone out there thinks that i want to assure them the sky is not falling. Assuming the worst and Butler suffers the league just takes an RPI hit and moves on. As far as TV exposure getting better coaches... just ask Seton Hall, DePaul, heck UCLA how that has worked out, there are no guarantees with coaches.

BEWannabe implicitly made the suggestion then became conspicuously absent when asked to define what would qualify the Big East as a failure. In other words, BEWannabe be trolling.

[BillEsq]

thanks i totally missed that post. utterly nuts to think that the BE will fail... I was afraid that one of my comments got taken the wrong way. The only thing the BE needs to worry about is what Butler reemerges post Stevens. A year in year out top 25 or just one of the best Horizon League teams they were before he was there. If its the former no worries. If its the latter they take a minor RPI hit which is quickly remedied by expansion if the hit is big enough to warrant it. Either way the league will be fine. And if your in the camp that said that the league was going to expand anyways... it really doesn't matter what Butler does. Regardless the league will be fine. The only schools who have to worry about Butler is Butler and any BE bubble schools who need the league RPI to dance.

[Bluejay]

I think it is just silly, if not outright stupid, that some people are trying to link the loss of Stevens to expansion.

Is this what we can come to expect now? Anytime a single BE school has any sort of bad news (and every school has bad news from time to time) that the usual suspects (BillEsq and others) will run right over here and somehow claim that the league must expand as a result?

Just stop it. We get that you want your respective teams in. That's nice. But frankly, I almost feel myself wanting SLU less and less with every "you need to add us now" post that I read.

You want to get attention from the BE? Go on a series of big runs in the NCAA tourney and prove to all of the skeptics that Crews isn't the same crappy coach that he was when he was at Evansville and Army (Remember that Creighton fans, in particular, witnessed the Crews act when he was at Evansville and weren't impressed). Show us that he isn't just taking advantage of the roster Big Rick set up for him, but is actually capable of recruiting at a high level himself (Crews can't even take credit for recruiting most of the SLU roster as a previous assistant because he wasn't even an asst there very long before essentially inheriting the job).

There is a great deal of irony in SLU advocates claiming that Butler's loss of a great coach somehow means SLU should be added - you just lost a great coach yourself and have only shown that a substitute, who was fired from the last two HC jobs that he held, can win with the roster his predecessor's assembled. I'd say SLU suffers from the same sort of ailment that SLU fans are now assigning to Butler!

[BillikensWin]

I think it is just silly, if not outright stupid, that some people are trying to link the loss of Stevens to expansion.

Is this what we can come to expect now? Anytime a single BE school has any sort of bad news (and every school has bad news from time to time) that the usual suspects (BillEsq and others) will run right over here and somehow claim that the league must expand as a result?

Just stop it. We get that you want your respective teams in. That's nice. But frankly, I almost feel myself wanting SLU less and less with every "you need to add us now" post that I read.

You want to get attention from the BE? Go on a series of big runs in the NCAA tourney and prove to all of the skeptics that Crews isn't the same crappy coach that he was when he was at Evansville and Army (Remember that Creighton fans, in particular, witnessed the Crews act when he was at Evansville and weren't impressed). Show us that he isn't just taking advantage of the roster Big Rick set up for him, but is actually capable of recruiting at a high level himself (Crews can't even take credit for recruiting most of the SLU roster as a previous assistant because he wasn't even an asst there very long before essentially inheriting the job).

There is a great deal of irony in SLU advocates claiming that Butler's loss of a great coach somehow means SLU should be added - you just lost a great coach yourself and have only shown that a substitute, who was fired from the last two HC jobs that he held, can win with the roster his predecessor's assembled. I'd say SLU suffers from the same sort of ailment that SLU fans are now assigning to Butler!

BEWannabe is not a SLU fan. Brad Stevens has nothing to do with expansion.

[DumpsterFireA10]

I think it is just silly, if not outright stupid, that some people are trying to link the loss of Stevens to expansion.

Is this what we can come to expect now? Anytime a single BE school has any sort of bad news (and every school has bad news from time to time) that the usual suspects (BillEsq and others) will run right over here and somehow claim that the league must expand as a result?

Just stop it. We get that you want your respective teams in. That's nice. But frankly, I almost feel myself wanting SLU less and less with every "you need to add us now" post that I read.

You want to get attention from the BE? Go on a series of big runs in the NCAA tourney and prove to all of the skeptics that Crews isn't the same crappy coach that he was when he was at Evansville and Army (Remember that Creighton fans, in particular, witnessed the Crews act when he was at Evansville and weren't impressed). Show us that he isn't just taking advantage of the roster Big Rick set up for him, but is actually capable of recruiting at a high level himself (Crews can't even take credit for recruiting most of the SLU roster as a previous assistant because he wasn't even an asst there very long before essentially inheriting the job).

There is a great deal of irony in SLU advocates claiming that Butler's loss of a great coach somehow means SLU should be added - you just lost a great coach yourself and have only shown that a substitute, who was fired from the last two HC jobs that he held, can win with the roster his predecessor's assembled. I'd say SLU suffers from the same sort of ailment that SLU fans are now assigning to Butler!

I don't agree with your premise at all...but there is no Big East Expansion, so it's a moot point. SLU screwed themselves by getting into the Dumpster Fire, now they can't get out. Winning the A-10 flat-out did not matter...and it won't matter again.

[Xudash]

I think it is just silly, if not outright stupid, that some people are trying to link the loss of Stevens to expansion.

Is this what we can come to expect now? Anytime a single BE school has any sort of bad news (and every school has bad news from time to time) that the usual suspects (BillEsq and others) will run right over here and somehow claim that the league must expand as a result?

Just stop it. We get that you want your respective teams in. That's nice. But frankly, I almost feel myself wanting SLU less and less with every "you need to add us now" post that I read.

You want to get attention from the BE? Go on a series of big runs in the NCAA tourney and prove to all of the skeptics that Crews isn't the same crappy coach that he was when he was at Evansville and Army (Remember that Creighton fans, in particular, witnessed the Crews act when he was at Evansville and weren't impressed). Show us that he isn't just taking advantage of the roster Big Rick set up for him, but is actually capable of recruiting at a high level himself (Crews can't even take credit for recruiting most of the SLU roster as a previous assistant because he wasn't even an asst there very long before essentially inheriting the job).

There is a great deal of irony in SLU advocates claiming that Butler's loss of a great coach somehow means SLU should be added - you just lost a great coach yourself and have only shown that a substitute, who was fired from the last two HC jobs that he held, can win with the roster his predecessor's assembled. I'd say SLU suffers from the same sort of ailment that SLU fans are now assigning to Butler!

+1

If this conference is going to expand, it will expand once expansion candidates have proved their worthiness. Nothing more. Nothing less. This conference was set-up with 10 for $500 million, period. It was all about establishing the right perceived mix. The C7 saw a clear path to conference composition by adding Xavier and Butler, and then, through adroit lobbying on the part of Creighton, became aware and convinced of Creighton's value to the Big East. Then the merry-go-round stopped. It's stopped now, and possibly for a little while, again due to the fact that ANY next round of expansion must involve CLEAR, worthy expansion candidates.

Ironically, in my opinion, based on institutional fit, athletic resources, television market, et al, SLU practically is there now. Crews does scare me, in terms of his ability to sustain what RM built (what a damn shame to have lost such a great guy and coach), but we'll just have to see what transpires from here.

But just think about SLU for a moment in the context of expansion candidates. By any measure, SLU would be attractive to any non-BCS conference in the U.S., notwithstanding logistical issues. Yet it didn't make the initial cut for the BE.

I truly believe that fans of schools that are not members of the BE are failing to grasp what Fox and the BE intend to pull off over time. I believe they'll pull it off, becoming very successful partners in the process. The loss of one coach from one of its schools isn't going to stop that train.

Stevens is a unique talent. His analytical approach and focus on fundamentals are admirable, whether you like Butler or not. Butler will bring a guy in, most likely from their family tree, who will have promise. He may be a strong recruiter, but lack Steven's analytical skills. The "Butler Way" may have to give way to recruiting better athletes to make up for the loss of the MoneyBall approach. We'll see. Butler has survived coaching changes in the past. They'll likely survive this one. But they've lost a true, unique talent. There will be a lot of adjusting to do in Indy, with little time to do it, but they get to do it as a member of the BE, versus as a member of something like the Horizon League.

[BillikensWin]

I was wrong earlier. Butler's coaching situation is not going to impact expansion. At all.

[BillEsq]

I think people have a few posters here mixed up... I know i myself got confused earlier
For Clarification purposes

BEwannabe is not a SLU fan... im not sure who he is a fan of but all reports out are that he is a troll

Billesq is not BillWin although both are fans of SLU are not the same person. Just to help clarify the situation i think i'll ask the admin if i can change my name our posts have been confused before.

BEsq, myself has never advocated that SLU has to be added immediately although i am, always have been, and always will be a fervent supporter of the BE moving to 12. I have also never totally advocated that SLU is the only worthy addition and would understand if SLU was never added. Most people know i'm more worried about my petty interest in Bellarmine lacrosse and other non-revs.

Bluejay... to make things clear in my post i stated that "The BE is fine regardless" so i'm not sure what you are hammering on. I am also and unaware of any current SLU fans who are advocating that SLU be added now as lets face it expansion this year is a moot point and outside of major circumstances it will not happen in a year or two at the fastest.

[CTYankee10]

Just for those who weren't aware, Butler had other connections to Big East teams...the president of Butler was the dean of Villanova School of Business before taking his current position.