Elrick: CAA Media Day or Bust

Elrick: CAA Media Day or Bust

Andy talks CAA media day, haves and have-nots, and the all-name team

Oct. 5, 2006

By Andy Elrick

CSTV.com

--- Column Archive ---10/5: CAA Media Day or Bust8/31: The Trip I Wish I Could Take8/4: NIT-Picking7/07: Charleston Choose6/28: Last But Not Least6/21: Christmas In June6/8: UConn Moves On5/2: Making A Mockery4/24: Who's Who?4/11: Out of Ideas4/03: The More Things Change...3/29: LSU Battles History3/27: George Mason is Key Story3/17: Comeback for Connecticut3/17: Big Band Brackets3/12: Selection Sunday Thoughts3/09: Short Attention Span Theater3/05: The Case Against UConn2/20: Happy Birthday, RPI2/09: Racing Ahead2/03: Colonial Times1/24: Fright Knight

Somebody's going to CAA media day and that somebody is me.

Mark it on your calendar, Oct. 25 in our nation's capital the coaches and administrators from last year's hottest conference will assemble to discuss how they can possibly top the success of last season. The answer, of course, is that they can't -- but it's going to be fun to try.

This will be my first CAA media day but I already find myself wondering if this year's event will be significantly more upscale then last year at this time. They are -- of course -- serving lunch because they understand that the media wouldn't show up to their own wedding if it weren't for the catering. But the schedule also features a continental breakfast; there's nothing mid-major about that.

Being a Have

The other "mid-major" that made waves last postseason was the Missouri Valley and they may be in a better position to follow up on that success.

It's hard to believe that with all the buzz around the MVC last year, Creighton wasn't a part of it. The Jays, despite a 20-10 record and a second-place finish in the conference, found themselves on the outside looking in when selection Sunday came around.

Dana Altman has been in Omaha for 12 years now and has spent much of that time turning down offers for bigger jobs. Why? Well, it's possible that Omaha is just a great place to be. Can't say since I've never been but, from a coaching standpoint, he's got a good thing going. A wise old coach once told me that the most important thing to consider when taking a new job is whether you are a "have" or a "have not" in the league in which you play.

As an example, this last off season the Hartford Hawks hired Temple assistant Dan Lebovitz as their new head coach. Though Hartford has struggled in recent years they have to be considered a "have" in the context of their league. They are smack dab in the middle of a relatively large metropolitan area (Hartford) and close to several others (New Haven, Bridgeport, Boston and New York). Most of the rest of their conference draws from a much less fertile recruiting base, BU and UMBC being the exceptions. The University of Hartford will never win the NCAA tournament but in their league they have the right ingredients to succeed.

Now, let's say in five or ten years coach Lebovitz has taken his Hawks to a couple of NCAA tournaments and he finds himself in the lobby of the coaches hotel at the Final Four being offered the Vanderbilt job -- what does he do? Vanderbilt is an example of a place where it's really tough to win mostly because you are coaching at a school where academics are important and you're competing with state universities whose standards are far more relaxed. Technically, Vandy doesn't even have an athletic department; they restructured it out of existence back in 2003. On the other hand, you would be coaching in the SEC and achieving even a modicum of success makes you look pretty good and could lead to an even bigger job. My guess is that Altman loves Omaha and that he also loves to win and Creighton offers him that opportunity year in and year out.

Bring in the Noise Bring in the Nate Funk

I love a good name, maybe it's because I have a relatively mundane one but I find myself attracted to basketball players with fun names. Casey Cavalry, Justus Thigpen and Kevin Pittsnogle are some that have stood out over time.

Every year it seems like there are more odd names out there -- and this year is no exception forcing the inclusion of a first and second team all-name.

First team

G Thanasi Panagiotakopoulos Northern Colorado

G Nate Funk Creighton

F Magnum Rolle LSU

F P.J. Couisnard Wichita State

C Sasha Kaun Kansas

Second team

G Tack Minor LSU

G Cliff Clinkscales DePaul

F Levon Kendall Pittsburgh

F Steward Trei New Mexico State

C Ted Skuchas Vanderbil