Seth Davis says Minnesota is 2nd-worst job in B1G | BMTN Interview

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I recall a poll of Big Ten basketball coaches some years ago rating Minnesota as the second worst job (after Northwestern) in the conference so Seth isn't treading new ground here.
 


Perhaps he should just let this point go. Right or wrong, he's made his point, and I'm not sure of the value for him of turning this into a strange crusade. It's definitely not good for the Minnesota program for someone with his reach to keep badmouthing it like this.

And yes, I know the convo was prompted by Tony, but all that succeeded in doing is giving Seth another opportunity to double down.
 
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Bad Gopher said:
Perhaps he should just let this point go. Right or wrong, he's made his point, and I'm not sure of the value for him of turning this into a strange crusade. It's definitely not good for the Minnesota program for someone with his reach to keep badmouthing it like this.

And yes, I know the convo was prompted by Tony, but all that succeeded in doing is giving Seth another opportunity to double down.
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We have to stay under the radar, rebuild, recruit, raise money, have success in the conference and tourney. Having this hack double down derails this whole process. We don't need publicity like this.
 


At this moment I would probably put Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn St and Washington in the same group at the bottom.
 


GophersInIowa said:
At this moment I would probably put Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn St and Washington in the same group at the bottom.
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Despite the miserable showing in their first conference year, I'd still put Washington ahead of the rest of that group based on their apparent resources and the quality of their recruiting as rated by the services.
 

TwistingMyMelon said:
Despite the miserable showing in their first conference year, I'd still put Washington ahead of the rest of that group based on their apparent resources and the quality of their recruiting as rated by the services.
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I'm with you.

I think Nebraska stands alone in their disadvantaged status. They've never won an NCAA game. Fred was very successful at ISU and can't seem to get any traction there. Northwestern had historically been the program that couldn't seem to get anywhere, but Collins has flipped the script there...although could it fly on its own there without him? Penn State has some disadvantages (e.g., out in the middle of nowhere, although that hasn't seemed to affect the football program), and they've been taking two steps forward and one step back over and over since they joined the conference.

Minnesota has both advantages and disadvantages. There's been too many successes over the years to characterize this as a bad situation, but sustained success isn't automatic either. We're disadvantaged at the moment because of the last quarter century of underperforming the situation, but I see our potential as being no worse than Wisconsin or Iowa.
 



Bad Gopher said:
Perhaps he should just let this point go. Right or wrong, he's made his point, and I'm not sure of the value for him of turning this into a strange crusade. It's definitely not good for the Minnesota program for someone with his reach to keep badmouthing it like this.

And yes, I know the convo was prompted by Tony, but all that succeeded in doing is giving Seth another opportunity to double down.
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It’s all about HIS exposure. “Notice me!!”.
 

Gilthorp57 said:
We have to stay under the radar, rebuild, recruit, raise money, have success in the conference and tourney. Having this hack double down derails this whole process. We don't need publicity like this.
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I don’t see how something that long ago resonates with players who weren’t even born then and especially in the Wild West of NCAA Madness - maybe you need to let it go and stop picking at scabs???
 

Just Gopher It!! said:
I don’t see how something that long ago resonates with players who weren’t even born then and especially in the Wild West of NCAA Madness - maybe you need to let it go and stop picking at scabs???
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Seth is the one picking at scabs, not us. Seth is the epitome of weenie.
 





TwistingMyMelon said:
Despite the miserable showing in their first conference year, I'd still put Washington ahead of the rest of that group based on their apparent resources and the quality of their recruiting as rated by the services.
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Head Coach Danny Sprinkle has brought renewed expectations to UW. In his first year as coach, he brought in some good players and the team improved throughout the year. This year he’s brought in 4 good players including Bryson Tucker from Indiana. The Huskies should be much improved this coming season.
 


Spaulding!No! said:
Rest assured - this will be manufactured into the U failing Ben.
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I guarantee that’s gonna get brought up. But you can’t fault Niko for being proactive and trying to raise money, and trying to let the state of Minnesota know that the University of Minnesota still has a basketball team.
 


Bad Gopher said:
I'm with you.

I think Nebraska stands alone in their disadvantaged status. They've never won an NCAA game. Fred was very successful at ISU and can't seem to get any traction there. Northwestern had historically been the program that couldn't seem to get anywhere, but Collins has flipped the script there...although could it fly on its own there without him? Penn State has some disadvantages (e.g., out in the middle of nowhere, although that hasn't seemed to affect the football program), and they've been taking two steps forward and one step back over and over since they joined the conference.

Minnesota has both advantages and disadvantages. There's been too many successes over the years to characterize this as a bad situation, but sustained success isn't automatic either. We're disadvantaged at the moment because of the last quarter century of underperforming the situation, but I see our potential as being no worse than Wisconsin or Iowa.
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"they've been taking two steps forward and one step back over and over since they joined the conference"

That's probably the best summary of Penn State's basketball performance in the conference that I've ever read. They have some decent teams here and there but they never seem to be able to achieve any period of sustained success - not even like Northwestern's two consecutive years in the NCAA tournament.

As far as Nebraska, I'm wondering how long of a leash Fred has. They got a decent consolation prize by winning the College Basketball Crown and they had an NCAA tournament appearance last season so I guess they've been a bit more successful recently than us. Basketball used to be an afterthought at Nebraska but the fans seem to care a little more about the sport these days.

I'm curious to see how Iowa performs next year. Most of their newcomers are inherited from Drake including that highly rated player but the forward from Robert Morris also was much in demand. Unfortunately, Wisconsin has become a model of consistency, not quite Bo Ryan level but certainly good enough.

I expect Minnesota to be better next season but I don't know how much better. I have to admit that I do enjoy the uncertainty of the current environment somewhat. I'm very anxious to see the beginning of each season because I've never watched most of these players before and don't have a strong idea of how the team will perform. I just hope for a better start and a better finish than we had this past season.
 


WAGopher said:
Head Coach Danny Sprinkle has brought renewed expectations to UW.
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I don't doubt that and he may do pretty well. But, keep something in mind: Danny Sprinkle was 28-7 in his one year at Utah State, his successor was 26-8 and his predecessor was 26-9 in his final year. Before them, Craig Smith was 74-24 in his three years at Utah State but flopped at Utah. Utah State seems to have become a can't miss job lately.
 

BleedGopher said:
Is Seth Davis still a thing? I had to look at where he even writes now, never even heard of his site.

Go Gophers!!
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You're right. He has a fringe audience at best, and usually makes outlandish predictions/statements for the sake of attention. He's nothing to garner too much time thinking about.
The facilities at MN are first class. Athletic areas/training facilites/nutritional are are fantastic. Tubby would be proud of his early efforts. The locker room at the Barn is terrific, and the venue is historically iconic. Fan experience can be improved, but players don't know about the troughs or concessions.
The weather in MN can be cold for about 3mo., but basketball is an indoor sport. Larry Bird didn't have a tan, and I'd take MN over Lubbock any day.
 


WAGopher said:
Head Coach Danny Sprinkle has brought renewed expectations to UW. In his first year as coach, he brought in some good players and the team improved throughout the year. This year he’s brought in 4 good players including Bryson Tucker from Indiana. The Huskies should be much improved this coming season.
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Very much looking forward to catching a Gophs game out in Jet City. Now if we could just get Washington to add mens and womens hockey...
 


TwistingMyMelon said:
I don't doubt that and he may do pretty well. But, keep something in mind: Danny Sprinkle was 28-7 in his one year at Utah State, his successor was 26-8 and his predecessor was 26-9 in his final year. Before them, Craig Smith was 74-24 in his three years at Utah State but flopped at Utah. Utah State seems to have become a can't miss job lately.
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Sprinkle also took over a sub .500 Montana State team and in his 3rd and 4th years won 27 and 25 games. And he maintained Utah State’s excellent record for the one year he was there. He’s proven he can build a team, and winning 78 games in three years is a pretty good sign he can coach. Hopefully he can build a winner in Montlake.
 

TwistingMyMelon said:
"they've been taking two steps forward and one step back over and over since they joined the conference"

That's probably the best summary of Penn State's basketball performance in the conference that I've ever read. They have some decent teams here and there but they never seem to be able to achieve any period of sustained success - not even like Northwestern's two consecutive years in the NCAA tournament.

As far as Nebraska, I'm wondering how long of a leash Fred has. They got a decent consolation prize by winning the College Basketball Crown and they had an NCAA tournament appearance last season so I guess they've been a bit more successful recently than us. Basketball used to be an afterthought at Nebraska but the fans seem to care a little more about the sport these days.

I'm curious to see how Iowa performs next year. Most of their newcomers are inherited from Drake including that highly rated player but the forward from Robert Morris also was much in demand. Unfortunately, Wisconsin has become a model of consistency, not quite Bo Ryan level but certainly good enough.

I expect Minnesota to be better next season but I don't know how much better. I have to admit that I do enjoy the uncertainty of the current environment somewhat. I'm very anxious to see the beginning of each season because I've never watched most of these players before and don't have a strong idea of how the team will perform. I just hope for a better start and a better finish than we had this past season.
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I'd imagine Fred Hoiberg is still held in high regard. Fact is he's about as good a leader for that program as they can get. This was a strange year for them, lots of close losses, etc. They get Mast back, but I thought they had really good talent last year and it didn't materialize. Maybe physically outmatched a few times, which was hard to understand as they had some size. I'd guess Fred not going anywhere unless he chooses to. He represents the school well.
 

dlnavra said:
I'd imagine Fred Hoiberg is still held in high regard. Fact is he's about as good a leader for that program as they can get. This was a strange year for them, lots of close losses, etc. They get Mast back, but I thought they had really good talent last year and it didn't materialize. Maybe physically outmatched a few times, which was hard to understand as they had some size. I'd guess Fred not going anywhere unless he chooses to. He represents the school well.
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My understanding is he also has a huge buyout, like $10m. The previous AD really handcuffed them. Without that issue, he’s underperformed enough to have been relieved.
 

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