As Bradleybrave alluded to....its the MVC wins that are all that matters.
who is doing what you're asking us not to do?
I see no excuses...but then I did pose a question - one that neither you nor anyone else has even taken a crack at...
...can anyone name a single time a college team went abroad and played PROFESSIONAL TEAMS?
Simple question...but obviously nobody has an answer....
Everyone else goes and plays rag-tag amateur and club teams, and rarely they play teams that might have a mix of pros.
BUT I couldn't find where anyone actually played a full tour of nothing BUT professional teams.
BU are the bold leaders and the best innovators among D-I...
plus recall much of this was arranged in an outstanding fashion before the fine AD left his post......
I read somewhere that Butler was playing some friendly games in Italy.
Yes, they all get paid. And they probably get bonuses for winning.
It is similar to the European pro leagues.
Shouldn't take any shame in losing to a club that is just "doing its job", while we play with a severely depleted lineup. At least Football starts soon to make these next 3 months go by fast.
Jason
...
--every other foreign tour I have seen has pitted the college teams against "club teams", semi-pro teams, or against Canadian college teams
(as was the case when BU went to Canada six years ago -- and although BU beat all the Canadian teams, numerous coleges
have gone north of the border like U of I and lost, and SIU struggled in every one of their games.)
I cannot recall a single example of where a team took a foreign tour and played a full slate of NOTHING BUT professional teams, can you?
Here's a box score of a select group of players from the Big Ten that went to Europe and played some very low level pro teams and LOST games,
here's an example showing a sound loss to a low level Belgian pro team !
http://www.mgoblue.com/document_file/bigten-tour-4.pdf
In 2006, the Big Ten touring team lost some of their games soundly.
http://www.michigandaily.com/content/foreign-tour-good-cagers
--I know they aren't top level pro teams like the Celtics, the Lakers, or even Maccabi Tel Aviv...but even lesser tier PRO teams are
always made up of the best players you can get....
But even many of BU's BEST players don't just jump to the professional level, even at 24 or 25 years of age without a few years of struggle before succeeding!
Even the lesser pro teams here in the US like NBDL or CBA teams would crush most college teams...especially when considering the next point.
--as pro teams, these guys have played together for a long time, and likely have been practicing together for months!
They are playing in their own home environment and would be expected to have a huge "home court" type advantage even if it's not their own actual home arena.
So--- what's everyone's opinion on how hard this tour is going to be?
Can BU win any of these games?
Can a team with largely teenagers and 20 year olds who have only had 10 practices possibly hang with
a series of five different PROFESSIONAL teams in a row..including a couple of them that are clearly top caliber teams?
I think if BU can compete with these guys and even win a couple games, it would be a good sign.
and PS-- one last question. Has ISU ever gone on a foreign tour?
(not counting their 1995 5th place finish in the San Juan Shootout..those were US college teams
and ISU played a Brazilian amateur team as an exhibition in 1999)
http://redbirdfan.com/archives/9900/brazil_9900.htm
I haven't seen an answer to two things I was initially curious about...
--I wanted to know if anyone could give even one example of where a team scheduled only pro teams on their tour and not just college or club teams with amateurs.
--I also wanted to know if ISU had ever taken a preseason tour...but I guess not as nobody seems to be able to recall such.