Akeem is BLOWING UP TWITTER

[PantherU]

Mar 11, 2016 18:21:42 GMT -6 ghostofdylan said:

I'll just go on record and say that Jimmy has this EXACTLY right.

EVERYTHING he writes is consistent with what I've heard and witnessed ... and in much of this we haven't compared notes.

What are we going to do about this, folks?

Contact your Chancellor. Finish it.

[PantherU]

Mar 11, 2016 17:27:14 GMT -6 jhart05 said:

Mar 11, 2016 16:04:10 GMT -6 PantherU said:

pantheru.com/2016/03/amanda-braun-is-essentially-rachel-phelps-from-major-league/

Nice article. Hope you don't mind that I forwarded a link to our AD.

Something tells me that she found it.

[A Statement By SHAUN]

Two things that stand out about this.

One - we are extremely lucky to have donors that give so much money willingly to panther athletics. I never realized there were people that put up that much money. I can't believe Braun would turn them down!! That is so crazy. If I were a donor giving a ton of money, and she turned me down like that, I would seriously consider turning my back on the program. Her turning them down is a huge slap in the face.

Two- In light of all this, I think it is pretty incredible what Jeter has accomplished at UWM. With an administration that doesn't give any support to the basketball team, he's gotten us to the tournament 2 times, and had us within smelling distance a number of times. Probably would be 3 times if it wasn't for the best mid major program in the history of mid major programs.

I'm just incredibly disappointed. None of the AD's reasoning makes sense. We want to be a top 3 program in the HL by LIMITING THE NUMBER OF GAMES WE PLAY?!?!!?!?!?

[A Statement By SHAUN]

And Jimmy, very good article on Pantheru.

[GoPanthers33]

Great article Jimmy.

I just wish our Athletic Department would listen and correct their obvious mistake.

[Pounce Needs Pals]

Oakland, which finished second in the Horizon League standings, announced it would only accept an invitation to participate in the new Vegas 16 tournament, which will take place March 26-30 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. -Todd Rosiak

[ghostofdylan]

And I have read in the Las Vegas Sun that the Vegas 16, which has been scouting the Pac-12 tournament this week in Las Vegas, is very interested in Oakland along with UCLA, Florida State, Arkansas, BYU, UNLV and some others.

So it looks like 1, a very appealing option for a program looking to extend its season and play meaningful games and 2, that Oakland's admiration is mutual.

While I'm on this topic, is it more "impactful" to play in Las Vegas vs. Florida State, Arkansas and/or UCLA or to play in next year's World Vision Classic against Alcorn State, IUPUI and Rider?

[nickpanther]

this is a very stupid move by the AD. you want to get some exposure for your school for recruits? you play in a postseason tourney, whether the CBI or CIT. Ok so winning one or the other means you're somewhere in the top 100 of teams in the country, still its a chance to send out your seniors on a high note, and build for next season. the APR ban was out of the schools control, the current APR system screws over schools that have kids transfer without finishing. but this is another matter entirely. I'm a 2006 grad of UWM, i was there for the Pearl years and i saw the excitement that this program can bring to the school. this was the best team talent-wise that UWM has had in likely a decade, in fact i'd say this squad could beat the 2014 squad that made the dance. but in order for the program to get where we all want to go, you need support from, the AD. and that is where MS Braun fell short. we need an AD that will support UWM athletics, its pretty clear Ms Braun is not that AD. So I will echo others here and call for her resignation. This school, and this program, deserves better than this.

[Pounce Needs Pals]

How do you recruit a kid to Milwaukee with Jeter with one year left on his contract and now an AD that won't reward the players with a 20 win season and a team GPA of 3.1 with no post-season. Plus, not one player transfered during the APR ban.

[ghostofdylan]

An open letter to Mark Mone:

"Don't let it end! I'm begging you, don't let it end this way!"

-- signed Styx and the Panther family

[PantherU]

Hey remember yesterday morning when everyone was still wondering if Akeem was leaving?

Lol so much for that.

Sent from my SCH-R970 using proboards

[ghostofdylan]

D. Kelly:

"We have two wins over NCAA tournament teams ... and good ones!"

[xtownfan]

Mar 11, 2016 19:52:48 GMT -6 Pounce Needs Pals said:

Oakland, which finished second in the Horizon League standings, announced it would only accept an invitation to participate in the new Vegas 16 tournament, which will take place March 26-30 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. -Todd Rosiak

Guys, I sympathize. Sorry for the disappointment and sorry for your players. I do not know what the financial situation is of your athletic program or the university as a whole, but it seems that it is under strain. But take a deep breath. This might make more sense than you think.

You and Green Bay have each played in the CBI in years past. You can judge for yourself how good the experience was. And as Jimmy pointed out in his article, it has benefited teams that participated in it in the past. I recall Saint Louis going to the final one year before they made a splash in the NCAA the following year. The first year had several C-USA teams. Not powerhouses, but the teams that have since moved on to the American. Teams that had at least played major teams during the season.

Now take a look at the field last year. Loyola won it. They beat Louisiana-Monroe. They were aided by the fact that they got to play (or had to play, depending on your point of view) four games at home. Here's who they beat: Rider, Oral Roberts, Seattle, and then the final. In short, the field was terrible. Arguably, the CIT, which aims for mid-major teams, had a better field. No major teams wanted to touch the CBI. I forget who Seattle upset to get to the final four, but the fact that they were in the tournament at all was a joke. This is a program that had just returned to D-1 and finished .500 in the WAC. I thought it was a decent investment for Loyola. After all, they just moved up the the MVC and this gave their players a few more games together under tournament conditions. Well it didn't work. Loyola was bad this year, and reportedly their AD was not happy that they dropped somewhere in the area of $100,0000 on the tournament. Having attended a couple of the games, I have to tell you that it would have been next to impossible for them to break even on any of the games. Reportedly, the CBI requires a guarantee of $60,000 a game to host. Loyola was selling tickets for $15. That means they would have had to sell 4000 a game. But they were selling tickets on short notice to games nobody knows they are playing against teams nobody has heard of or cares about. They drew the typical 2,000 or so die hard fans and serious local college basketball fans.

Now consider what UWM would do with home games. Your attendance in recent years has been about 2-3000 a game. Now try and sell tickets on a few days notice. You are going to draw flies. And the alternative is to play the games on the road against middling competition in games no one is paying attention to. A serious question if it is worth the travel cost.

Now, someone is going to reply that major donors would have picked up the tab. OK. Maybe. But if I am an AD trying to handle an underfunded athletic department, I would have to consider if that is where I want those donations to go. Better hit them up next year for something that actually benefits the program. What I find revealing here is that your AD is not the only one turning down the CBI. (I am not sure what is going on with the CIT, but I imagine it is similar.) ADs are figuring out that this tournament is a ripoff. Gazelle group is making a tidy profit. The participants are not. So an AD might not be doing herself any favors by promoting a tournament that other ADs are not too happy about. Frankly, I expect that the CBI is going to be gone in a couple years. Lots of ADs would like to be rid of a tournament that does them no good and costs them a bunch of money, but which they feel like they have to participate in to keep their fans happy.

Now take a look at the rest of the HL. Valpo will go to the NIT. Oakland has already said they would turn down the CBI and CIT. Green Bay of course got hot and is going to the dance. Wait and see if Cleveland State or Wright State go anywhere. She's got a point. Fifth place in the HL is not a huge accomplishment. You had a big win against Wisconsin (which brought a smile to the face of your neighbors btw.) But UWM is not on the verge of a breakout season. This isn't a case where playing in this great tournament is going to give the team a running start on next year. Rather, it is a chance to spend money to play some games against mediocre competition that nobody is watching.

Again, I do not know what the exact financial situation is at UWM, although it is clearly not flush with cash. I will not speculate on the AD's mindset based upon what she looked like at a particular game. I am just offering the possibility that she might be making a difficult but well reasoned decision. If you do not have a lot of dollars, you might have to be careful to aim them where they will do you the most good.

[Spirit of Bruce]

I firmly believe that this team deserves to play in a postseason tournament after what they went through last year. If by some miracle they are able to after all this uproar on their behalf, I would hope that they will take the opportunity and run with it.

As the days have gone by, I am reminded of our only other CBI appearance in 2012, in which we could've easily beaten TCU on their home floor. Instead, most of the team had Panama City Beach on their minds, Jonesed it, and we lost by 10. I would not want a repeat of that performance, but Matt Tiby and Co. are a much different bunch than a few of the characters on the 2012 team, so I wouldn't be worried about it.

[ghostofdylan]

Bottom line: Despite the disappointment of an APR ban that wasn't their doing, they all STAYED, they fought proudly and they were all good students and good people.

Isn't this the type of "total" person that a university should celebrate and REWARD? What kind of place are we running here?