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Thanksgiving tournaments - where next?

M

MDCowboy

New member
I think we have to commend Jim Les and the rest of the BU administration who helped get involved with a Thanksgiving tournament like this one in South Padre. Getting 4 games (including 2 at home) and a chance to play 2 BCS conference schools on a neutral court is really a good thing. I liked last year's tourney in Chicago as well. I know BU played in a similar event in Vegas a few years back.

Anyone have any idea where BU might be looking next year? The Old Spice tournament in Orlando is rising in popularity and Wichita St. got into the tourney there next year. I'd love to see Bradley play in the new Anaheim tournament next year. Does anyone know when we are going to go to the Great Alaska Shootout? Definitely sometime during Will's 4 years here.

I love the tournaments where more games are on TV. To me, that is the main allure of the Orlando and Anaheim tournament. Even the consolation games are on TV.

Let me know if anyone has any inside information on where BU may go next year.
 
I commend them upon the Non-Con schedule in general. Even with the loss to UIC if we manage to win a couple more games we will be looking great.
 
Do I hear an Aloha? LOL I know the Maui invitational is hard to get into but that would be an excellent one if we can finish great this season.

Jason
 
And to be quite honest, I think we would be something of a muffin in a tournament like that.

The 2008 lineup
Alabama
Chaminade (host)
Indiana
UNC
Notre Dame
Oregon
St. Joesph's
Texas
 
Are we going to have a good class by then though, thats the only problem. Ruffin, Crouch, Wilson, Collins, Singh, Salley, Cole-Scott and a few others I can't think of will all be gone at end of next season. Should still have a decent core of the youngsters from this season though.

Jason
 
Thanks Da Coach and Tornado. Alaska would make the most sense with Egolf to get him some games near his home. Not a bad event too... if you end up in the winners bracket, you get good TV coverage. It is also a well attended event as the locals come out to see the tournament in a real arena setting.

I do like the idea of BU looking for more of these tournaments. With the next exempt rule allowing a tournament every year, finding a tournament like this is crucial. I don't know why some schools don't try to get into these events. The chance for multiple games is really a nice bonus.
 
Being in Alaska, with most of the games being broadcasted back home close to midnight, will most of us be sober enough to stay awake for the whole game LOL. Alaska would be an interesting vacation though.

Jason
 
Lets see....late november....starting to snow in Illinois.....yeah lets go somewhere COLDER ;)

Werent we only talking about going to the Alaska tournament for a recruiting point with one of the guys from er....Juneau? Or am I crazy?
 
JP911, us old timers will be awake and do our indulging during the game. That's where our afternoon naps come in handy.
 
I wish our athletic department would get us into a tournament that is more recognizable. I don't really like the round-robin style that we've seen in South Padre and Chicago. I would like to see us play against some more respected teams rather than play one or two from power conferences and 2 or 3 against 300+ RPI programs. I'd like to see us play in the Anaheim Classic or the Old Spice Classic in the future. I see that to be more likely, although it would also be nice to see us play in the Great Alaska or even the Pre-season NIT. Both of those tournaments would give us great exposure and almost guaranteed coverage by ESPN. Butler's run in the pre-season NIT is what sparked their national exposure last year.
 
Gwright said:
I commend them upon the Non-Con schedule in general. Even with the loss to UIC if we manage to win a couple more games we will be looking great.
Click to expand...

I can't really commend them too much because of 4 non-conference road games against the Horizon League, including the season opener. The big names are great, but they go for naught when you play that many road games against teams that don't help your SOS or RPI.
 
BradleyBrave - I disagree..... the Horizon games would be good for the RPI *IF* we can win them. Butler and Wright St. were NCAA teams last year and Loyola/UIC are both Chicago games and good for the fans. The "code" for breaking the RPI says you need to win some road games against decent/average teams. The schedule is fine.

With regards to IlliBraves, I understand your point about wanting a tournament with more exposure. The Old Spice and Anaheim Classic tournaments are new but have ESPN firmly behind them and have good exposure. I would think we'd be very attractive to the Anaheim Classic since they had SIU this year. The problem with the Pre-Season NIT and some of those other tourneys are that you can't guarantee 3 or 4 games. If you lose the first game, you might only get 1 or 2 games. And more than likely we'd have to go on the road.

I have to think these 2 at home, then 2 at another neutral site tourneys are good for the budget. You get 2 home games. Granted UMES and Gulf Coast are not great programs, but it was well worth it for the chance to play Iowa and Vandy. Plus 2 more home games for the fans. This was the same format as the Las Vegas tournament that North Carolina, Louisville, and BYU were just in. So I think the format is not bad. Would I like Anaheim, Old Spice, or Great Alaska Shootout? yes - no doubt. I think Bradley will likely return to the Chicago tournament again after 2 more years since you can't play in the same event within a 4 year span.
 
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