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Post by rgs318 on Jul 5, 2022 17:21:11 GMT -5
As his story of "the shot" gets retold, it seems to have moved away from a planned shot (where Champion made sure he was outside the arc) to a lucky heave. IMO, you are correct that it was not a "heave" of any kind. I was lucky enough to see it and then to watch the video of it many times.
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Post by sader1970 on Jul 5, 2022 17:32:25 GMT -5
Unquestionably Robert made sure he was beyond the arc as he got the ball well within the arc and dribbled out to the arc. However, it also was unquestionably an off-balance shot and I have serious doubts that it was a shot that he practiced many times before. But he had a great outside shot and wouldn't call it a "lucky' one.
BTW, his parents were and are the best.
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Post by thecrossisback on Jul 5, 2022 20:23:19 GMT -5
How about the clutch 3 point shot by Husek to keep the Crusaders in the game.
Remember the calls on this board to think about dropping football.
The 2 are in totally different places.
Another problem besides the transfer portal is the Crusaders can't get anybody good to come play them at the HART. Harvard?
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Post by bfoley82 on Jul 5, 2022 21:34:54 GMT -5
Marcus Blossom explicitly declared that men's basketball was Holy Cross' premiere sport, closely followed by football. That no longer is true under Kit Hughes. Having heard Kit Hughes talk about the transfer portal more than once, and more recently discuss NIL, I have a clear sense that he feels that currently, there is too much perturbation and instability in men's basketball to assign top priority to that program. If and when these pervasive disruptive forces settle down, then, IMO, a relook at who is on top would be in order. Not speaking of the players, coach, lineup, roster construction etc.,... the basketball team has a chance to play for the highest-level, national trophy in the game. They have a chance to play in the wildly popular, HIGHLY visible March Madness tournament. Thanks to an auto-bid, this is possible every single year, even in the most unlikely years (thank you, Robert Champion 3 point heave at Bucknell). By default, that should maintain basketball as the premiere sport at the school.
Football has been incredibly successful. I hope they win the PL every year. For the sport though, D1 FCS, HC plays in a division that is much smaller-time, smaller popularity, smaller fan base. Far less national attention. The haves and the have-nots are in different GALAXIES, let alone on different planets like we may be in basketball. Even if HC wins a national championship, how many people would know HC won the FCS championship? I wager a large sum many fewer than would know the FBS champ, and the prior five in a row. How many people watch FBS bowls, random as they may be, and now the FBS playoffs versus the FCS brackets? Do they even televise those games (on what channel?)
I've posted this a million times in various capacities in the past, but basketball SHOULD be our premiere sport. The only thing that's finally putting a dent in my opinion is the fact that players transfer all over the damn place in basketball, at all ranges of D1, and it's becoming almost 100% dependent to root for a shirt and not a person (because they'll be gone in an hour, just wait) versus football where we've won, and kept our core.
They also leave in football...
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Post by bfoley82 on Jul 5, 2022 21:35:35 GMT -5
How about the clutch 3 point shot by Husek to keep the Crusaders in the game. Remember the calls on this board to think about dropping football. The 2 are in totally different places. Another problem besides the transfer portal is the Crusaders can't get anybody good to come play them at the HART. Harvard? They can't even get anyone good to go to the DCU to play.
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Post by sader1970 on Jul 6, 2022 5:47:32 GMT -5
Many of us recall clearly that there were very good teams that would refuse to play the Ralph Willard teams because they had legitimate fears that they would lose and had nothing to gain. Win and, "so what? it's a lowly Patriot League team!" Lose and "you lost to a Patriot League team?!" Ralph's teams could upset a number of teams (think PC his first year) and scare the bejesus out of others (think Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette).
Unfortunately, the present coach, who shall not be named, has the team at such a nadir that while there is no fear of losing to Holy Cross, regardless of the venue, even a big win does less than nothing for the other team. Only D-3 teams are interested in playing us because technically we are a D-1 team.
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Post by trimster on Jul 6, 2022 7:19:55 GMT -5
Sad but very true.
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Post by timholycross on Jul 6, 2022 7:22:44 GMT -5
So much has to be shaken out in each of those sports before anyone can accurately tell where Holy Cross is relative to the competition.
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Post by rgs318 on Jul 6, 2022 7:26:15 GMT -5
Leave out the word "technically" (IMHO a cheap shot attempt at an insult - HC is Division 1) and I probably agree with all you said, sader1970.
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Post by Tom on Jul 6, 2022 7:29:37 GMT -5
How about the clutch 3 point shot by Husek to keep the Crusaders in the game. Remember the calls on this board to think about dropping football. The 2 are in totally different places. Another problem besides the transfer portal is the Crusaders can't get anybody good to come play them at the HART. Harvard? Not many big names coming to Fitton either
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Jul 6, 2022 7:31:08 GMT -5
Robert Champion’s 3 pointer was a long, quick-released SHOT that he probably had practiced thousands of times, definitely not any kind of heave. And that 2016 team made many non lucky shots and created many defensive stops in those 4 games to make Rob’s dream shot so vital. And then made more in the final. For me, the 2 most amazing things about RChamp's shot were: 1) the absolute perfect singular push dribble to ultimately place the ball in the perfect area (both proximity to the sideline and height) for him to catch and shoot, and 2) the athletic ability to turn his body 360 degrees to put him in shooting position. The shot itself looked fundamentally sound and normal to me......and all while the clock was ticking oh so close to zero. As was mentioned, Matt Husek was huge coming down the stretch. And to echo sader1970, the Champions are HOFers in the parent dept.
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Post by longsuffering on Jul 6, 2022 7:49:51 GMT -5
How about the clutch 3 point shot by Husek to keep the Crusaders in the game. Remember the calls on this board to think about dropping football. The 2 are in totally different places. Another problem besides the transfer portal is the Crusaders can't get anybody good to come play them at the HART. Harvard? Not many big names coming to Fitton either Teams will start coming to Fitton to upgrade their strength of schedule.
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Post by WCHC Sports on Jul 6, 2022 8:20:58 GMT -5
My point was not to disparage Champion, a fellow Robert, and a fellow #22 (although I was well before his use of the number). Sprinting to the corner and hoisting up a rushed shot showed his talent, but it was a desperation point of the game, and he delivered. Kind of like Ray Allen's run to the corner to sink his 3 in the NBA Finals. We're getting off topic.
The point was that even in a year that the team was 15-20 overall, including 5-13 in the conference, they can get into the NCAA tournament. They can gain tremendous visibility. And they can even win a game, which they did. They can-- no matter how unlikely-- win one of the most-watched televised events of the year. Factually, FCS doesn't have that same juice, especially in the Northeast. I'll root for both teams until my blood is no longer blue(purple). But the only reason I could see why MBB is not our premiere sport is because the admin and missteps have nearly killed it.
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Post by Sons of Vaval on Jul 6, 2022 8:32:31 GMT -5
It's an interesting question -- what would garner more recognition nationally: Winning a first round game in the NCAA Tournament (not a play-in-game), or winning the FCS national championship?
FWIW, NDSU beat Montana State in 2022. The game was played on Jan. 8 (Saturday) at 12:00 ET on ESPN2 and drew an average of 1.3 million viewers.
NDSU winning was barely a story in the middle of the NBA regular season, final weekend of the NFL regular season, and a couple days before the FBS championship.
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Post by sader1970 on Jul 6, 2022 8:41:34 GMT -5
Just me but I'd rather win a national championship at the level of play than a one-off play-in game. Now, if we were a 16th seed and bumped of a #1 seed, I MIGHT re-consider.
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Post by WCHC Sports on Jul 6, 2022 8:45:18 GMT -5
SoV makes a good point-- it's tough to argue with those extreme ends of the hyperbole though. I think the national sporting world might remember a Cinderella run more than a national championship in FCS. Ugh, do I have to wear the Holy Cross banner and say that any national championship is "better?" I think the company line is that you'd rather have the title. But in your example, winning a game or two, or three, or a big #16 versus #1 knockoff will be remembered and replayed for many years.
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Post by Tom on Jul 6, 2022 9:40:12 GMT -5
I think most Crusaders would prefer a national FCS championship to an NCAA hoops win in the round of 64.
I think more non-Crusaders would be aware of the hoops win than the title from filling out their brackets. Also every time a #15 is giving a #2 a scare, they post the graphic listing all the times that has happened. While the national championship is a better achievement, the average sports fan will know more about the NCAA hoops
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Post by longsuffering on Jul 6, 2022 10:10:16 GMT -5
I think most Crusaders would prefer a national FCS championship to an NCAA hoops win in the round of 64. I think more non-Crusaders would be aware of the hoops win than the title from filling out their brackets. Also every time a #15 is giving a #2 a scare, they post the graphic listing all the times that has happened. While the national championship is a better achievement, the average sports fan will know more about the NCAA hoops An NCAA FCS championship would "fire up the base" as they say. That would help the Development Dept. Notoriety from success in March Madness would help both Development and Admissions. Winning an FCS championship certainly wouldn't hurt Admissions but might not generate as much new interest.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Jul 6, 2022 10:30:50 GMT -5
Which achievement would spur more interest from Worcester and put more fans in the seats? Would a Dance win (say HC @#14 seed beating a #3) boost basketball attendance (fan count, not % change) the next year than an FCS football championship would boost Fitton Field attendance? Let’s assume the schedules are the same as this year
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Post by Sons of Vaval on Jul 6, 2022 10:50:28 GMT -5
Which achievement would spur more interest from Worcester and put more fans in the seats? Would a Dance win (say HC @#14 seed beating a #3) boost basketball attendance (fan count, not % change) the next year than an FCS football championship would boost Fitton Field attendance? Let’s assume the schedules are the same as this year A basketball win like this gets you in the national sports conversation for a minimum of three days -- the day HC gets the upset, the day in between first and second round, and then the second round game. The NCAA Tournament also isn't up against any competing events in the sports world at this time (NBA and NHL regular season don't count), so all eyes are on this event. The FCS, as much as we like it for HC, is a niche sport. The average sports fan doesn't realize it's Division 1. For these reasons, an NCAA Tournament win of this variety would do more for the school than an FCS Championship, IMO.
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Post by HC92 on Jul 6, 2022 12:02:40 GMT -5
How about we compromise and win the national title in football and beat Duke in the Round of 64?
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Post by alum on Jul 6, 2022 12:14:58 GMT -5
How about we compromise and win the national title in football and beat Duke in the Round of 64? I would like to offer a friendly amendment to this motion. How about we beat Kentucky in the round of 64 instead of Duke?
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Post by WCHC Sports on Jul 6, 2022 12:53:24 GMT -5
We're killing it in the PL for football. We're not filling Fitton, are we?
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Jul 6, 2022 12:58:21 GMT -5
We're killing it in the PL for football. We're not filling Fitton, are we? I’m going to take a look at attendance and report back when I get a chance this evening
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Post by longsuffering on Jul 6, 2022 13:03:08 GMT -5
We're killing it in the PL for football. We're not filling Fitton, are we? No, but a 20% increase in fans is a couple of thousand or so at the bottom of the hill and a couple of hundred or so at the top of the hill. We have 17,000 of excess capacity on the flood plain. Let's start filling it. But then again we only get four games a year on that lush green acre and many more in the Hart, so it's best we fill them both up with championship teams.
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