(“People,” for the sake of this argument, doesn’t mean “people who follow a particular team closely, die-hard fans. “People” means the general college basketball-consuming viewerscape.)
Dana Altman’s run of postseason appearances over the last 11 years is impressive enough to make many, many non-BCS programs jealous. Heck, it is enough to make most BCS schools green with envy, too.
Many pundits, from the local level to the highest reaches of national media and his own peers, have noted the incredible job he has done at Creighton during his tenure in Omaha. By and large, he brings in student athletes who are not only terrific basketball players but also have the character to match.
People want two things: a winning team, and a group of kids they can genuinely root for. Because he provides this for a city full of basketball fans, the program (including the university, the city of Omaha as a basketball supporter, and of course himself) has experienced increased levels of exposure during the past decade.
The proof, as they say, is in the pudding: or in this case, the mini donuts. The crowds Altman’s team attracts to the Qwest Center night in and night out are remarkable. Looking back 6 years ago, when I was graduating from Creighton, we in the first iteration of Altman’s Army were ecstatic if some of the end zone seats in the upper bowl were full and the Civic drew around 6,000 or 7,000 for a game. That was, of course, at the beginning of the magical 2002-2003 season, which changed the face of CU hoops in the basketball mainstream seemingly for good.
But since critics get paid to criticize, and they have to find something to complain about regarding Altman’s time on the Hilltop, what is the one glaring fault they find with Dana’s regime? His lack of regular season conference titles.
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It took Dana Altman 7 seasons to capture his first regular season Valley title: He went from 7-19 and tied for 9th in the conference in 1994-1995 to 24-8 and the top of the Missouri Valley Conference in 2000-2001. He went from making the NIT (1997-1998) to being invited to the Big Dance (7 times, including 5 straight trips from 1998 to 2003).
Altman’s only true regular season champion (00-01) actually was the only team during his tenure to garner an at-large bid to the Big Dance; that squad lost in the semifinals of Arch Madness. To get to the premier postseason tournament, Altman and the Jays have won 6 of the last 10 MVC postseason conference tournaments.
A new era of Bluejay basketball had begun. Not only were Jays fans expecting winning teams year in and year out, they were expecting NCAA tournament bids (whether it be at-large or by winning in St. Louis). Fans, media, and I’m sure the coaching staff and players themselves continue to set the bar higher and higher for Creighton’s basketball program. After making 7 NCAA tournament appearances (and receiving 4 NIT bids) in the past decade and being considered one of the best non-BCS programs in the country, the logical next step is to snag a few wins in the Big Dance. Altman’s teams have won 2 games in the tournament (vs. Louisville in 1999 and vs. Florida in 2002) and suffered their fair amount of heartbreaking losses, but the overall record in the NCAA tournament does not live up to some fans’ expectations.
But do these expectations for future postseason success (a Gonzaga- or George Mason-like run, for instance) outweigh hope for regular season championships? Do regular season crowns really matter?
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Dana has recruited a lot of talented players while at Creighton. Most have gone on to be professionals in something other than sports. Why do they come to CU? Yes, the academics are important, as is the atmosphere of the arena on game night. Large crowds are important, but winning trumps all. And the ultimate sign of success in college basketball is playing in the NCAA tournament.
What does winning mean? A majority of a team’s games? An MVC title? An Arch Madness title? Year in and year out, with the ways teams change and rosters turn over due to graduation, winning might not mean the same thing to different teams. But everyone wants to play in the NCAA tournament. That is the end goal for every college hoops team.
The lone senior on this year’s Jays squad to have not played in the NCAA tournament is Booker Woodfox. You can bet that every man on the team, from his fellow seniors Josh Dotzler and Dustin Sitzmann to freshman redshirt Josh Jones, want to get Booker (as well as themselves) a chance to participate in March Madness.
And this where I pull some logic from an old math teacher from back in the day. A square is a rectangle but a rectangle is not a square. Just follow me here. Making the NCAA tournament (the square) can be accomplished by winning the regular season MVC title (the rectangle) — the regular season Valley champ has made the NCAA tournament each year since 1993. But winning the regular season crown (the rectangle) does not guarantee you a spot in the NCAA tournament (the square).
A square is a rectangle but a rectangle is not a square. The Big Dance can be made winning the regular season title, but winning the regular season title doesn’t mean you will automatically make the tournament.
Dana is the Dean of the Valley, yet his most high-profile success stories focus on exciting sweeps in St. Louis. He has an outright title in his pocket (00-01) and another shared regular season championship the next season (01-02). In 2002 they won both the regular season crown and Arch Madness, but in 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005, and 2007 Altman’s Jays had to win 3 games in 3 days to assure themselves a spot in the Big Dance. It has become a rite of spring, watching the Jays storm the court in St. Louis. Why else would fans flock there every March instead of spending spring break on the beach?
But is relying on this relative crap shoot — Brian Fish talked at great lengths last night during the Creighton Sports Hour on Big Sports 590 about the amount of luck that needs to go a team’s way to win in Arch Madness — a realistic expectation for fans? If the end goal is the square, why get so worked up about the rectangle?
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Dana Altman’s 15 years at Creighton ranks 16th longest nationally for one coach at a single school. Let’s compare him to another Dean of a conference, someone who has been at his program for 14 years.
While Dana has secured his 11th straight season of 20 or more wins,this coach has accomplished that feat in 10 of his team’s last 12 seasons.
Altman has posted 13 straight seasons of 10 or more conference wins;this coach has done it 10 of the past 12 seasons.
High expectations are part of this coach’s school and fan base as well. Dana has managed two regular season conference titles while at Creighton but an astonishing 6 Valley tournament titles. This coachhas four regular season titles but just two conference tournament titles.
Their fan bases love these coaches. But naturally, people still want more from them, regardless of what they’ve done already. They don’t have to worry about job security; rather, the schools often worry about them leaving for other challenges. After a 24-hour stint down south, we’ve seen Altman make his commitment to Omaha;this coach has had many opportunities to leave but, like Dana, like’s the state he grew up in.
Do fans want more regular season conference titles from both (rectangles)? Yes. But will they take NCAA tournament appearances (squares) instead, no matter how they get there? I do, and I will. And more tournament wins, of course! While Dana’s last regular season conference title came in 2002, this coach hasn’t won one since 2001. Why’s he still around? Well this coach has been to one Final Four since his last regular season conference title. No, it’s not Jim Larranaga. This coach has been to the tournament every year for the past 11 years, and his team is a lock to make it an even dozen this season. This coach is considered one of the best in the country.
Who is this coach?
Tom Izzo of Michigan State. That’s right, with all the success the Spartans have had, they haven’t won a regular season title since 2001 and a conference tournament title since 2000. Obviously, there are two major differences (among dozens of others): Izzo coaches at a BCS school with the resources of a small military; and he has turned those resources into a 2000 National Championship and four trips to the Final Four since 1999.
I am in no way, shape, or form suggesting that Altman and Izzo share anything more in common than just heavy expectations and a drought in conference titles. And while those are an important measuring stick for coaches and programs, I’m sure Sparty and the rest of the Izzone focus more on Tom’s postseason success than on the lack of Big 10 hardware adorning the already-cramped trophy cases in theBreslin Center.
The Spartans, like the Jays, are in the heat of a conference race themselves. With three games to go Izzo’s Michigan State team is one game ahead of Matt Painter and the Purdue Boilermakers with 3 games to play. Their magic number is 3 as they try to bring a Big Ten basketball crown back to East Lansing, which would be their first in 8 years.
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Altman’s Jays are not in the tournament right now; don’t “eat the cheese” being set out in front of you right now by local media and web-based “bracketologists.” And barring a tournament win in St. Louis they most likely won’t make the NCAA tournament (again, don’t believe the hype right now that they are any closer to the good side of the bubble).
Relying on the rectangle won’t work this year, even though it would be great to hang a banner. To capture the square the Jays will need to play as well or better next week in Arch Madness than they’ve played during their current 9-game win streak. Whether that is fair makes no difference. And whether that lessens the successes of this season does not matter, either.
We are not Michigan State, and Dana is not Tom Izzo. Dana would not sit face-to-face with Ron Burgundy. Dana probably wouldn’t call out Erin Andrews on national television. We face the same struggles but in much different situations. And whether that makes the expectations unfair for Altman’s teams year in and year out is not important. They are there. Now go get the square any way you have to.