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On the Prowl: Taking Stock
The Valley's season ended with a 61-58 loss on Thursday night. The Kansas Jayhawks (who I will say now are much, much better this year than in the last two years) outlasted the vicious Southern Illinois Salukis and their now-legendary defense. As Kyle Whelliston once said, "It always ends with a loss."
In this time of humility, there are a few things that we as Valley fans can remember: Valley basketball is worthy of a national stage, and life as a Valley fan is hard but rewarding. I can say with great certainty that being a Valley basketball fan has shaved off at least five years from my life. The good news is I was probably going to live to be 95 anyway. But I digress.
First and foremost, we simply have to talk about The Valley's stubborn refusal to let anyone seperate themselves from the pack. I've said this before, but this nonsense about the MVC "cannabilizing" itself is a very real perception nationally. Meanwhile the ACC with its seven bids only cashed in one Sweet 16 team. So again, I digress. The fact remains that The Valley was likely the most balanced from top to bottom that it has ever been, and the best/worst part about that being that the when the 10th place team beat you, it had a lot to do with it being pretty good, much more than it had to do with your team being incredibly bad that night. Didn't Indiana State knock off 9-seed Purdue by 19 earlier this season? Yeah, yeah they did...
In the end, SIU emerged as the champion of a rugged MVC. Their head was broken, bloody, but unbowed. I remember saying earlier in the year that whoever was the champion of this nightmare of a conference was destined for big things in the postseason. I would like to humbly request permission to say that I'm right. The big downside of all of this was the NCAA's stubborn and bullheaded refusal to acknowledge The Valley's worthiness come Selection Sunday, just as many of the media pundits predicted they would. To be fair, however, most of those same pundits would later cry foul at the committee's decision to do so when it did happen.
This leaves many asking the question "what does The Valley have to do in order to prove itself?" The answer is hard to determine since the MVC continues to do the best it can with the hands that its dealt. SIU was provided with an opportunity to defeat Kansas in the Sweet 16, but came up short. Other than that, The Valley's wins were pretty much standard. They beat the teams that they were supposed to, and when it came time to try to get the North Carolinas, Dukes, Ohio States, and Marylands to try to play the MVC, it didn't happen. We're still waiting on a call from Gary Williams at Maryland, though, and we're always hopeful...
The only thing that can be done is to continue on the course. If the MVC continues to keep shoving its way to the forefront of the conference RPI and getting a few attention-grabbing wins, it might make the situation better. The most unfair part is that if the MVC has the kind of letdown season that might be possible next year, that's going to be very difficult.
Some are predicting doom for The Valley next year, with many teams falling off and making the MVC as a whole suffer. I'm reluctant to do so. After all, can't we just come to a consensus and say that Southern Illinois will always be good? Isn't this six straight NCAA bids for them? SIU is now one of those schools who can just reload. Guys like Bryan Mullins, Tony Boyle, Matt Shaw, and of course the return of Randall Falker (insert fanfare here... I had to look it up to make sure, but yes kiddies... he's back next season) will make SIU very tough to beat once again. Wichita State may have had a down year this season, but they won't stay down for long. There's a lot of potential in their underclassmen. As for our Panthers? Take a reflective look back... remember how many freshman and sophomores were on the floor for us at any given time? And how we still finished 18-13? We'll be okay next year, trust me...
The bottom line is this: The Valley at the very worst is the best mid-major conference in America, hands down. At its very best? Well, the sky is the limit. That's an uplifting thought, and might console you as you realize you won't be watching Valley hoops for another eight months.
__________________
The Valley's season ended with a 61-58 loss on Thursday night. The Kansas Jayhawks (who I will say now are much, much better this year than in the last two years) outlasted the vicious Southern Illinois Salukis and their now-legendary defense. As Kyle Whelliston once said, "It always ends with a loss."
In this time of humility, there are a few things that we as Valley fans can remember: Valley basketball is worthy of a national stage, and life as a Valley fan is hard but rewarding. I can say with great certainty that being a Valley basketball fan has shaved off at least five years from my life. The good news is I was probably going to live to be 95 anyway. But I digress.
First and foremost, we simply have to talk about The Valley's stubborn refusal to let anyone seperate themselves from the pack. I've said this before, but this nonsense about the MVC "cannabilizing" itself is a very real perception nationally. Meanwhile the ACC with its seven bids only cashed in one Sweet 16 team. So again, I digress. The fact remains that The Valley was likely the most balanced from top to bottom that it has ever been, and the best/worst part about that being that the when the 10th place team beat you, it had a lot to do with it being pretty good, much more than it had to do with your team being incredibly bad that night. Didn't Indiana State knock off 9-seed Purdue by 19 earlier this season? Yeah, yeah they did...
In the end, SIU emerged as the champion of a rugged MVC. Their head was broken, bloody, but unbowed. I remember saying earlier in the year that whoever was the champion of this nightmare of a conference was destined for big things in the postseason. I would like to humbly request permission to say that I'm right. The big downside of all of this was the NCAA's stubborn and bullheaded refusal to acknowledge The Valley's worthiness come Selection Sunday, just as many of the media pundits predicted they would. To be fair, however, most of those same pundits would later cry foul at the committee's decision to do so when it did happen.
This leaves many asking the question "what does The Valley have to do in order to prove itself?" The answer is hard to determine since the MVC continues to do the best it can with the hands that its dealt. SIU was provided with an opportunity to defeat Kansas in the Sweet 16, but came up short. Other than that, The Valley's wins were pretty much standard. They beat the teams that they were supposed to, and when it came time to try to get the North Carolinas, Dukes, Ohio States, and Marylands to try to play the MVC, it didn't happen. We're still waiting on a call from Gary Williams at Maryland, though, and we're always hopeful...
The only thing that can be done is to continue on the course. If the MVC continues to keep shoving its way to the forefront of the conference RPI and getting a few attention-grabbing wins, it might make the situation better. The most unfair part is that if the MVC has the kind of letdown season that might be possible next year, that's going to be very difficult.
Some are predicting doom for The Valley next year, with many teams falling off and making the MVC as a whole suffer. I'm reluctant to do so. After all, can't we just come to a consensus and say that Southern Illinois will always be good? Isn't this six straight NCAA bids for them? SIU is now one of those schools who can just reload. Guys like Bryan Mullins, Tony Boyle, Matt Shaw, and of course the return of Randall Falker (insert fanfare here... I had to look it up to make sure, but yes kiddies... he's back next season) will make SIU very tough to beat once again. Wichita State may have had a down year this season, but they won't stay down for long. There's a lot of potential in their underclassmen. As for our Panthers? Take a reflective look back... remember how many freshman and sophomores were on the floor for us at any given time? And how we still finished 18-13? We'll be okay next year, trust me...
The bottom line is this: The Valley at the very worst is the best mid-major conference in America, hands down. At its very best? Well, the sky is the limit. That's an uplifting thought, and might console you as you realize you won't be watching Valley hoops for another eight months.
__________________
