NCAA D-I success stories

[89rabbit]

Our friends over on the Bison board found a couple of success stories about teams moving up to D-I. They are good reads, and show you what is possible for our Jackrabbits! 8) Here are the links:

Belmont University:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/colle...nt-cover_x.htm

Hampton University:

http://www.dailypress.com/sports/loc...l=dp-sports-hu


Go State! ;D

[filbert]

Re: NCAA D-I success stories

From the USA Today story (does this sound at all familiar?)

"Belmont kind of jumped off the cliff," Strickland says. "It was faith. We didn't have a league, and we didn't have but seven basketball players that first year."

With no league and no prospect of reaching the NCAA tournament as an independent, Strickland says, "What Division I player would want to play here?"

[mitchellrabbit]

Re: NCAA D-I success stories

stay positive and patient and the jacks will be there someday.

[filbert]

Re: NCAA D-I success stories

stay positive and patient and the jacks will be there someday.

"Some day" can happen fast. We already have the right coach. It doesn't take a lot of players to turn a basketball team into something special. We have a good start (Holdren, Cadwell, etc.). Add a few more of the right players (Cordova?) with the right attitude and all of the sudden we could have a very special team, just in time to be Tournament-eligible in 2009.

Let's look at who we may have on the court at the end of the 2008-09 season:

Cadwell - Senior
Loney - Senior
Holdren - Senior
Gilbert - Senior (if he returns)
Hornby - Junior
Yackley - Junior
Engen - Junior
Bilitz - Junior
Bassett - Sophomore
Cordova - Sophomore
Plus three other scholarship guys (assuming Yackley stays a walkon).

I'd say that would be a pretty decent group of seniors for the 2008-09 year. Cadwell and Holdren have both proved they can play the D-I game, Loney always seems to get things done, and adding Gilbert to the mix would put that much more pressure on a defense. And that's just the seniors.

Two keys to success: a top-flight point guard, and continued support from the Jackrabbit Nation. I think we can handle the second one, and I trust Nagy to recruit and develop the former--Cadwell or Hornby may very well be that guy. We'll see.

[GoJacks]

Re: NCAA D-I success stories

This article isn't specifically about SDSU basketball but it talks in terms notoriety, financial windfall that the NCAA Men's Division I tournament brings, and a little South Dakota pride from our Montana friends.

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/app...603180323/1006

I picked up from the UNC Bears message board.

I think everyone will find it interesting and that it will very similar for SDSU in the future.