GREAT EXPECTATIONS - The Santa Clara Edition

"The Bucking Bronco"

TAKE A MOMENT...........

Now flashback to 2007.

"Kerry Keating named to replace Dick Davey as Santa Clara University Men's Basketball coach".

Dick was popular and had some great successes over the years - but the expectations of SCU Men's basketball were - well - modest at best.

This abrupt and messy change could only mean one thing.  The "U" was finally getting serious about Basketball. After all, his resume was impressive:  top recruiter, the coaching stint names marquee - Wake Forest, Seton Hall, Tulsa, Tennessee, and UCLA, won the NIT, been to two final 4's, and Catholic values - wow!  Fans began thinking, "watch out Gonzaga"!!

And the expectations grew bigger than Pinocchio's nose...

What if that's all it was, a coaching change, greater expectations on both sides, but little or nothing else.?

What if the new recruiting genius was handed the same set of rusty tools his predecessors were given? The tools would be equivalent in today's world to bringing a top 100 high school recruit to campus and walking him in to the old Seifert Gym.  Well, throw in a video coordinator and an academic assistant to help the players and don't change much else.  All the while, most teams in your league are putting in a whole new workbench and new tools.  Now - GO WIN THE WCC!!

What if he can't do the extra research and trips needed to find the next unknown Nash - since the top 100 is out of our reach with our current program?  What if there isn't, the up to $90,000 per game money needed to schedule higher quality home opponents?

I can go on and on with more what if's.  You get the idea.  Believe me,  I HATE excuses. There is only one thing I hate more - wasted opportunities...

Experts (which I am certainly not) will tell you success in Division 1 Men's Basketball breaks down to 3 things - the resources for recruiting, scheduling, and on court performance.  Find better players, who can compete against better teams which allows you to build a stronger schedule, that raises the reputation of your program that leads to a succession of better recruits, etc.

Think the Duke away game from last season.

NOW - Fast Forward to 2013...

Would your opinion change??

This is where we are.  Do I think we should have won more given the above?  Of course.  Would Kerry Keating say he'd like to have won more?  Absolutely.

There is ONE thing I know for sure...No one's EXPECTATIONS are being met....

And if they are, I'll meet you in Seifert Gym for a game of "horse".

Why Gonzaga Rules the WCC

"The Bucking Bronco"

When Mark Few took over the reigns of Gonzaga Men's Basketball in 1999, hardly anyone expected this to mean "Few-er" wins and WCC titles for the rest of the league.

After all, he had never been a head coach, never even played college basketball, and may have been the last man standing, after being hired as a graduate assistant by Dan Fitzgerald and staying on through the Dan Monson years.

Not exactly a recipe for success - but turns out he's making a meal out of the league.

Maybe Fitzgerald & Monson saw something in Mark that "few" others noticed - he doesn't settle for just good enough, he has his own vision and the drive to go after it.

He dismisses the concept of the good "mid major" program label that most of the WCC teams aspire to become. He blows it away.  Even back in the early days, he chafed at the notion that "don't bother recruiting kids who were good enough to play in the then, Pac 10.  His teams played with a huge "chip" on their shoulders.

Of course there were many other people as well as the University that assisted creating this juggernaut. But Few was certainly the driver.  He found Adam Morrison and parlayed the success to the top of the WCC and frequent flyer trips to the NCAA.

We've had many great players, most recently some guy named Steve Nash and parlayed it into.....

While SCU is trying to get to contending for WCC titles as a mid- major program, Few's thinking about leaving for a new, national stage league with names like Georgetown, Villanova, Marquette - you get the picture.

A seven figure salary and a double digit string of consecutive NCAA appearances, and oh by the way, a local hero gets you into those conversations.

Gonzaga and Mark Few made the most out of their opportunities - sounds like a Silicon Valley story - but.....Spokane?

Don't miss the great read below.

Click on the link below to an interesting New York Times piece from earlier in 2013.

The Rise of Gonzaga


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SCU President's Commission on Athletic's Report Due by Year's End

"The Bucking Bronco"

We love the Broncos.  We celebrate wins and agonize losses.  We WONDER:  why can't we contend with the WCC men's basketball kingpins?  Is it recruiting?  Coaching?  Facilities?  Academic admission policies?  Resources?  I mean, Spokane versus Silicon Valley and some of the best weather in the nation - really!

Maybe it's some of or all of the above.

The tom-toms were beating and Father Engh and the SCU leadership team heard them. This past June he established the President's Commission on Athletics.

Their Mission:  Study and Report

1. How can a stronger Intercollegiate program enhance our mission and vision?
2. To what extent would this increase our national and local reputation as a Jesuit and Catholic University?
3. What resources would be needed to "do it right"?
4. Can it be done without jeopardizing our compliance and academic standards?

This, potentially is VERY exciting news.  IF, we have the resolve to act and implement.  We're talking about contending in the WCC, striving for appearances on the national stage, hey - maybe even a big upset win or two.  This may be a "game" changer.  Not immediately - I know we are all impatient...

The makeup of the committee is impressive.  Not your usual "say yes" cast of characters. These people have real "cred".  They've seen it, done, it, financed it, and measured it - been there.

The committee bench-marked the WCC and other national programs (we are not talking Duke here) to find out how they've done it and how WE could do it.  Our own athletic program presented their "as is" case and what they felt would be needed to achieve better results.

It's too bad we are a bit late to the party - but I hope we just got on the invite list.

Our competitors have discovered that they can "monetize" athletics - particularly basketball and not lower any standards.  The PR and Brand exposure received on the national level is estimated to be a hundred million to duplicate - yes that's right, $100M.  Sold out games, TV contracts, corporate sponsors want in.  

In many cases, it also helps fund raising - leading to more yearly contributions and growing endowments.  Do applications to these schools rise?  They do - not in every case, but in a number of them.  Does this reputation help other sports - yes it can.  

The timetable goes down like this.  The report has been completed and due to Father Engh on December 15th.  Disseminated to the Board of Trustees for review and consideration at their February 14, 2014 meeting.

If the answer is go forward, changes will be necessary.  It will take more University budget commitment, fund raising, and most importantly, a plan with clear achievement measurements and accountability.  

More like the real world of Silicon Valley we live in.  

It's a fantastic opportunity....Do we have the vision and resolve?  The season ticket holders and other Bronco fans will be thinking about the possibilities every game...