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Post by Crosser on Mar 19, 2021 11:22:24 GMT -5
You are too young to remember the student-athletes HC had on the basketball squads when HC was last relevant on the national scene in the mid to late 70's. Three were chosen as the outstanding student-athlete in the graduating class, (Crusader of the Year), one earned a dual liberal arts/engineering degree from HC and WPI, another went on to become a PhD. God forbid we admit people like that to win basketball games. It is certainly true that there have been great student athletes who have played hoops at HC but I can name 5 players recruited in the late 70's and first half of the 80's who flunked out. Some came back and some did not. I think GB was doing his best to keep winning and was cutting some corners. I would also point out that Ivy financial aid was not as generous in those days as it is today and more athletic families had to pay some or all of the tuition at those schools. They get some of the uber smart players we might have gotten with a full scholarship in those days. (I think that this is ever more true in football than basketball.) And anyone who waited in line in the Fieldhouse to register for classes each semester in the mid to late 60s will certainly remember that the football and basketball players were always at the front of the line. Does this mean anyone was cheating? No. Does this mean you found it difficult to get into any of the coveted “gut” classes or the ones that were otherwise the most appealing? Yup.
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Post by longsuffering on Mar 19, 2021 13:23:51 GMT -5
Times have changed since the 1970s. We’ve been trying to win basketball games admitting people like that since I was a young undergrad. Needless to say, we’ve struggled outside of the Willard years to win basketball games in the PL. Would be much worse in the A10 absent a serious change in how we think about our commitment to hoops on all levels, including admissions. I always hate getting involved in the good old days comparisons, but I can't help myself. I just think any comparisons with the pre internet/cable world are risky at best. In the case of HC, the pro sports stranglehold in this area has also changed things as well.
I just feel we need to be honest. In no way am I trying to compare the level of competition of the PL with the old ECAC of the 70s....but (and it pains me, having cut my non alum teeth on those 70s squads) - when you look at the bottom line, program wise, what was accomplished that hasn't been duplicated or bettered by those Flannery bison squads? They won against power teams, on the road......they won (twice) in the NCAA tournament; and if I'm not mistaken, they cracked the top 25 at one point. Now, no one in the PL has had a preseason top 10 ranking, and no one had a national freshman of the year, but - I'm pretty sure (again, if we accept the fact that it's not HC) you can compare C.J. McCollum with RP Jr., based on the entire body of work.
The challenge for the PL is that there is no margin for error, in anything. You have to have the right coach, who gets the right mix of players.....and maybe finds a hidden gem or two. I also think there needs to be at least 1 (if not more) teams that can really push the top dog, the way the Saders and Bison used to go at it (with AU nipping at their heels). But - it has happened, if we accept that it hasn't been HC that reached the greatest heights in the PL (I hate saying that, res - I know you're smiling at this!)
One RW season HC was in a cohort of mid major teams that qualified for some kind of scheduling exemption to play one or more other high performing mid majors in mid season. I can't remember the details but I clearly remember thinking that was the Holy Cross wheelhouse or sweet spot - to be recognized nationally as among the strong mid majors with scheduling opportunities to demonstrate that against other top mid major teams, but without giving in to any major ills of big time basketball.
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Post by Crucis#1 on Mar 19, 2021 13:44:39 GMT -5
The game you are referencing occurred on February 17, 2007 against Hofstra at the Mack Sports Complex. It was a Bracket Buster Game. HC lost 65-64.
As part of the arrangement, Hofstra played HC the following season at the Hart Center on November 10, 2007. HC won 61-47.
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Mar 19, 2021 13:46:26 GMT -5
And a really good game, other than the final score.
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Post by Crucis#1 on Mar 19, 2021 14:04:05 GMT -5
The year prior to the Bracket Buster event, 2006-2007, HC had a great OOC schedule. goholycross.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/2006-07HC played: Fairfield, Hampton, Siena, Harvard, William and Mary, Syracuse, Yale, Dayton, Duke, Providence, George Mason, LaSalle, Niagara, Delaware, before the Patriot League schedule. HC finished 25-9
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Mar 19, 2021 16:16:37 GMT -5
The year prior to the Bracket Buster event, 2006-2007, HC had a great OOC schedule. goholycross.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/2006-07HC played: Fairfield, Hampton, Siena, Harvard, William and Mary, Syracuse, Yale, Dayton, Duke, Providence, George Mason, LaSalle, Niagara, Delaware, before the Patriot League schedule. HC finished 25-9 + PLT => Lafayette, American & Bucknell + NCAA => Southern Illinois aka the most lopsided 8 point game in the modern history of the sport
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