24-25 Big East Discussion

[guru]

Oct 14, 2024 17:55:48 GMT -5 prhoya said:

Why does it have to be so bad? It continues to be amateur hour with a Top 15 NCAA budget!

From the front page:

“As October is well underway, the promotion of pre-season events across the Big East has one school absent.

The basketball office has neither announced nor promoted any activities in advance of its Nov. 6 opener versus Lehigh. A year ago, head coach Ed Cooley was promoting "transformational change" among the fan base while an Associated Press story claimed "overall ticket revenue is projected to grow 67 [percent]" in 2033-24. (Average attendance for paid games increased from 5,337 to 6,612 per game, net of the free opener.)

This season, the message at Georgetown is far more muted compared to activities elsewhere in the conference:

Opening Events: Six Big East schools opened the off-season with events along the line of the now deprecated term of "Midnight Madness", as the NCAA no long holds teams to starting team practices at midnight of the first allowable day. Another three schools paired, or are pairing, an opening event with a NIL-based fundraiser. The opening of formal practice at Georgetown came and went without fanfare on September 24. The school has not held a Midnight Madness-styled event since 2019.
Intrasquad Scrimmages: Six Big East schools have, or will hold, a public intrasquad scrimmage this month in conjunction with, or separate from, its opening events as described above. Georgetown held a scrimmage for students last year, its first since 1982, but has not announced any such event for 2024.
Exhibition Games: The NCAA has liberalized the use of pre-season Division I exhibition games, particularly for charitable purposes. Eight of 11 Big East teams will participate in games this year, beginning October 14 (Connecticut vs. Rhode Island at Mohegan Sun) and concluding Oct. 30. Georgetown's last exhibition game was on November 3, 2001 versus a traveling team from Ft. Hood, TX.
Reasons why Georgetown isn't as visible in October can vary. Yes, some of it is ingrained: though Cooley may deny it, this is the same "nothing to see here" approach utilized by his four predecessors. The fan base does not expect much publicity from Georgetown any more, and thus does not complain when they fail to act.

Could they afford to do more? Basketball's overall budget, though large, likely gives little thought to promotional activity, and outside sponsorship of Georgetown events remains low. Increasing Georgetown "spirit", no matter how it is defined, isn't selling tickets right now. There is no director of marketing or "sports promotions" anymore, and its only FTE in the "Marketing & Promotions" department manages visual media.

As McDonough Gymnasium ages, its utility to host events dwindles, and the cost of renting Capital One Arena would be prohibitive with the likelihood of very small crowds for such an event. Finally, the Georgetown NIL footprint is far smaller than what some Fox announcers would have you believe, and absent a community platform its own events remain in stealth.

All of these factors minimize the ability of the Hoyas to dig out of a decade or more of low expectations in the University and broader D.C communities. Winning would help, but even that is just a start. Otherwise, with eight freshmen and 13 newcomers overall, a first look at the 2024-25 Hoyas may not come until the season opener.

MM/NIL Scrimmage Exhibition
Butler Yes Yes
UConn Yes Yes Yes
Creighton Yes Yes
DePaul Yes Yes
Georgetown
Marquette Yes Yes
Providence Yes Yes
Seton Hall Yes
St. John's Yes Yes Yes
Villanova Yes Yes Yes
Xavier Yes Yes Yes”

Georgetown? Nada.

(DFW, please add the front page table.)

Wow. If accurate, that is really, really bad. I don’t get it at all. This stuff seems like it used to be Cooley’s calling card?

[seaweed]

We’re in stealth mode - let them learn about us the hard way, after the tipoff

[DFW HOYA]

Not a "secret" scrimmage: UConn 102, Rhode Island 75
Attendance: 7,593

uconnhuskies.com/news/2024/10/14/mens-basketball-huskies-run-past-rhody-in-hof-enshrinement-game.aspx

[EtomicB]

Well stated...

[prhoya]

Oct 16, 2024 10:41:46 GMT -5 EtomicB said:

Well stated...

Good. With the free transfer rule, today’s rejected school could be next year’s destination.

[EtomicB]

FWIW...

[jackofjoy]

Oct 6, 2024 19:12:47 GMT -5 jwp91 said:

Fremantle may be at 4% body fat. From what I understand that is borderline dangerous. It sounds like more hyperbole than long-term sustainable.

Swain may have put on 40 lbs in a year…I think putting 40 lbs of good weight on is an edge case and not common. I would bet it is not all good weight.

One thing is a fact - Sean Miller is a dirty cheater, even if he never made any "strong-a$$ offers" 

[Lethal_Interjection]

[EtomicB]

Oct 17, 2024 9:29:37 GMT -5 Lethal_Interjection said:

[EtomicB]

[hoyasaxa2003]

Oct 14, 2024 17:55:48 GMT -5 prhoya said:

As McDonough Gymnasium ages, its utility to host events dwindles, and the cost of renting Capital One Arena would be prohibitive with the likelihood of very small crowds for such an event. Finally, the Georgetown NIL footprint is far smaller than what some Fox announcers would have you believe, and absent a community platform its own events remain in stealth.

I would be curious of the source/information underlying the NIL statement. It seems pretty obvious that Georgetown's NIL situation is not nearly as strong as was being touted last year, but I also wonder where it lies in the context of the Big East. If our NIL is worse than say, Seton Hall, for example, we have big problems. I doubt that's true, though.

DFW, if you care to share any additional information that would be appreciated. I realize it is not on par with a Midnight Madness style event, but isn't there an open practice on Saturday?

[SSHoya]

Oct 17, 2024 15:32:30 GMT -5 hoyasaxa2003 said:

Oct 14, 2024 17:55:48 GMT -5 prhoya said:

As McDonough Gymnasium ages, its utility to host events dwindles, and the cost of renting Capital One Arena would be prohibitive with the likelihood of very small crowds for such an event. Finally, the Georgetown NIL footprint is far smaller than what some Fox announcers would have you believe, and absent a community platform its own events remain in stealth.

I would be curious of the source/information underlying the NIL statement. It seems pretty obvious that Georgetown's NIL situation is not nearly as strong as was being touted last year, but I also wonder where it lies in the context of the Big East. If our NIL is worse than say, Seton Hall, for example, we have big problems. I doubt that's true, though.

DFW, if you care to share any additional information that would be appreciated. I realize it is not on par with a Midnight Madness style event, but isn't there an open practice on Saturday?

Received this email October 3rd to an email account I only check occasionally.

As a valued Season Ticket Member, we're thrilled to invite you to an exclusive open practice session for the 2024-25 Georgetown Men's Basketball team! This special event is our way of showing appreciation for your unwavering support and dedication.

EVENT DETAILS

Date: Saturday, October 19th, 2024

Time: 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Location: McDonough Arena


*Parking available in the Southwest Garage which is accessed from

3611 Canal Rd., NW.

[DFW HOYA]

Oct 17, 2024 15:32:30 GMT -5 hoyasaxa2003 said:

I would be curious of the source/information underlying the NIL statement. It seems pretty obvious that Georgetown's NIL situation is not nearly as strong as was being touted last year, but I also wonder where it lies in the context of the Big East. If our NIL is worse than say, Seton Hall, for example, we have big problems. I doubt that's true, though. DFW, if you care to share any additional information that would be appreciated. I realize it is not on par with a Midnight Madness style event, but isn't there an open practice on Saturday?

Opinions only. (Up-front: I am not a donor to any collective.)

I think a lot of the NIL talk brewed up from John Fanta's original reporting, namely, that Georgetown would do whatever it took to get Cooley to turn the program around. To some, that meant market-plus salary. To others, that was market-plus NIL. It's the largest school in the Big East by budget and by endowment, what couldn't Georgetown do, they thought. But Georgetown didn't even have a formal collective for a month after Cooley was hired, and by that point I suspect Hurley, Pitino, McDermott, et al. were going to their donors and asked "what are we going to do to match Georgetown?" Having not signed any major portal transfers in 2023 (Hunter Dickinson was the most visible, but there were others) probably tamped down some of that "Georgetown has all the NIL they need" chatter early in the Cooley era.

Outside of the Thompson Center and the Hoyas Rising offices, I don't think any of us could, would, or should know what those numbers are. In August, CBS Sports.com surveyed 100 coaches with the question: "Which three programs do you believe have the best NIL situations?" It wrote: "One other interesting thing about the results of our poll is that the programs coaches largely believe are swinging the biggest NIL sticks are either blue bloods and/or schools employing new coaches. Our top-five vote getters -- Arkansas, Kansas, BYU, Kentucky and Indiana -- all check at least one of those boxes. Kentucky checks both. And only six programs appeared on more ballots than Louisville, another traditional power with a new coach that is desperate to return to relevance ASAP." Outside 19 schools listed (including UConn and St. John's), Georgetown finished with "other programs that received at least one vote," along with Arizona, Florida, McNeese State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Villanova, and Washington. That's not to say Georgetown is bereft of NIL, only that the coaches' perception did not match that in the media.

Hoyas Rising said as much in their 2023 report on its web site. It acknowledged that "the GU donor community is energized but in pockets" and "in the not too distant future, there is a need for more commercial support by the DMV commercial community for these efforts to be sustainable." That's a key word. John Calipari not only has last names like Walton, Tyson, or (Jerry) Jones on speed dial, but its NIL can also count on the the bank presidents, the car dealers, the real estate developers that want to be close to the program: it's a commercial effort, and I suspect that's similar (though not in scale) to what UConn, Marquette, Creighton and PC can do. Georgetown doesn't have the bank presidents or the car dealers, and its collective relies on a limited number of generous donors to write checks, and there's no Mike Repole as a backstop.

armoneyandpolitics.com/membership-has-its-privileges-school-connections-run-deep-for-college-donors/

[EtomicB]

Ooof…

[EtomicB]

Good game, Ejiofor is going to give teams fits..

[EtomicB]

[EtomicB]

[EtomicB]

[EtomicB]

I agree here since the 3 ball is the great equalizer..

[EtomicB]

Here's Pitino hedging against a so-so year and a great year at the same time...

Also add in throwing some shade at Uconn, He's a character for sure..