HUGE, inspiring, Final Four retrospectives — 10 years later — from CBS Sports & Washington Post

[Vurbel]

Like it was some super secret strategy. If you have a good coach, you pay to keep him. All that vcu did was realize that they had to hit up the local businesses so they would have the money to keep Shaka. THAT is where we failed. We also had an a**hole AD who had a big ego who refused to stroke Larranaga's ego. And it cost us badly. Larranaga had us back in 2011. He would have built on that with a Top 25 ranking in 2012 and who knows what that team would have been able to do. FU TOC

And I remember people calling Coach L the "Cuban Judas." How times have changed...

 

[GreenLantern]

Best to look forward and not regret the mistakes of the past. We have a good coach, potentially good players coming in and hope has been restored for me.

 

[gmujim92]

Best to look forward and not regret the mistakes of the past. We have a good coach, potentially good players coming in and hope has been restored for me.

Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it ... and I don't think there are any Mason fans who want to relive the Hewitt years.

 

[KAOriginal]

It ALL goes back to the whole "athletics is a side door" comment.

Merten was old school and conservative---Mason will be known for academics and research first...and oh by the way we have this nifty basketball thing. See my sleeve patches?

Rao-dude is still like only 48= "Hell yeah we got a f*ckin basketball team that kicks a** and oh by the way we do some pretty cool papier mache art and medical stuff too."

No way were we going to market a style, or anything beyond that we had a team. We just had the wrong administration at the wrong time to satisfy "sports fans."

 

[Five Two]

I get all that, but my point is even if those investments would have occured, theres no way we can say the investments prevent any of the items I mentioned.

no, there isn't a way to prevent those items. but now, those investments are table stakes in the world of college basketball. If we don't want to make those investments, we do have options and those are the Big South, NEC, etc....

I'm thankful we have BE running the show now.

 

[mkaufman1]

no, there isn't a way to prevent those items. but now, those investments are table stakes in the world of college basketball. If we don't want to make those investments, we do have options and those are the Big South, NEC, etc....

I'm thankful we have BE running the show now.

Yep, I get that and to be in a higher level in terms of being able to recruit and compete you have to have that stuff. My general point was that during that era none of that stuff would have prevented what I mentioned and it was easy to complain when bitter. Now, I think its much different of an era in college athletics like you mentioned. Of course it would have been nice to be the first to do it but...such is life. Onward and upward.

 

[Five Two]

I remember coming home from Verizon Center and seeing FOX 5 playing this clip:
from the 1:40 mark:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gKbrj2nZis

 

[GSII]

I dunno about you guys, but the last month felt like OCM was still our coach.