Are we against going to other tournaments?

foutsrouts · March 11, 2012

I'd love to see us play more games, but that's just me. How about we throw our money together with the Frogs and maybe play a game at a neutral site? UTA's new digs? Not totally neutral, but not bad for either school. At least we'd finally get to play each other, and our teams seem to be pretty close to equal this year.

MCMLXXX · March 11, 2012

Even if you win another tournament and average more than 20 wins per season it matters not unless you go to the big dance,

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=297&articleid=20120311_297_0_DougWo751966

greenminer · March 12, 2012

Even if you win another tournament and average more than 20 wins per season it matters not unless you go to the big dance,
http://www.tulsaworl..._0_DougWo751966

Tulsa fans have tasted the E8. They want it again.

The Fake Lonnie Finch · March 12, 2012

Tulsa fans have tasted the E8. They want it again.

I thought Tulsa would be done with Wojcik after he wasted last season's roster of upperclassmen. Whomever they hire is going to get a great roster with Jordan Clarkson, UConn transfer Scottie Haralson, Eric McClellan, Tim Peete, and Kodi Maduka returning; that's five of their top six scorers and minutes players. Only Haralson will be a senior.

Wojcik was a great recruiter and assistant at Michigan State. But, his TU teams spit the bit too often in big games. Many thought - myself included - that the 21-point beating of Oklahoma State in December of 2009 was a turning point. In reality, it was the zenith.

Tulsa is a weird little school that has always prided itself on basketball more than football. So, this is tough for them. When you consider that Wojcik is the win leader, you have to understand that, considering its history, it means very little. Many other coaches who came to Tulsa left after short stints and went on to greener pastures:

Nolan Richardson, 1981-1985...now Mexican national team coach...national title, 1994 at Arkansas

Tubby Smith, 1991-1995...now at Minnesota...national title, 1998 at Kentucky

Bill Self, 1997-2000...now at Kansas...national title, 2008

Basically, if a Tulsa coach is worth anything, someone else hires him away. Tulsa is in a situation where it has wanted to hire a great coach that doesn't get hired away, but doesn't have the money to keep them around.

Like other small schools, Tulsa has to someday admit it is small...or, somehow get its donors to cough up enough money to prove otherwise. Wojcik wasn't horrible, but he wasn't great either. Which begs the other question that always tugs at small schools - do we have enough to be consistently great?

Believe me, when you talk to old time TU basketball geezers, Gonzaga sticks in their collective craw. They don't understand why their little school can't be like Gonzaga. But the truth is, Gonzaga doesn't have the 800-pound gorilla that Tulsa does pulling away financial resources - football.

There is a tug of war between Tulsa in football and basketball, and the old basketball people at TU hate it. There was a big faction of TU alumni that was, two athletic directors ago, pushing TU to drop its football program to I-AA.

It's funny, though. Wojcik rebuilt the team fairly quickly. But, just winning consistently isn't enough for TU basketball. The old guys haven't been to an NCAA Tournament in 10 years now. The new athletic director is under pressure to change that...before they die, and football really takes over!

Edited March 12, 2012 by The Fake Lonnie Finch

NT03 · April 18, 2012

1331566678' post='631371']
I thought Tulsa would be done with Wojcik after he wasted ulast season's roster of upperclassmen. Whomever they hire is going to get a great roster with Jordan Clarkson, UConn transfer Scottie Haralson, Eric McClellan, Tim Peete, and Kodi Maduka returning; that's five of their top six scorers and minutes players. Only Haralson will be a senior.

Wojcik was a great recruiter and assistant at Michigan State. But, his TU teams spit the bit too often in big games. Many thought - myself included - that the 21-point beating of Oklahoma State in December of 2009 was a turning point. In reality, it was the zenith.

Tulsa is a weird little school that has always prided itself on basketball more than football. So, this is tough for them. When you consider that Wojcik is the win leader, you have to understand that, considering its history, it means very little. Many other coaches who came to Tulsa left after short stints and went on to greener pastures:

Nolan Richardson, 1981-1985...now Mexican national team coach...national title, 1994 at Arkansas
Tubby Smith, 1991-1995...now at Minnesota...national title, 1998 at Kentucky
Bill Self, 1997-2000...now at Kansas...national title, 2008

Basically, if a Tulsa coach is worth anything, someone else hires him away. Tulsa is in a situation where it has wanted to hire a great coach that doesn't get hired away, but doesn't have the money to keep them around.

Like other small schools, Tulsa has to someday admit it is small...or, somehow get its donors to cough up enough money to prove otherwise. Wojcik wasn't horrible, but he wasn't great either. Which begs the other question that always tugs at small schools - do we have enough to be consistently great?

Believe me, when you talk to old time TU basketball geezers, Gonzaga sticks in their collective craw. They don't understand why their little school can't be like Gonzaga. But the truth is, Gonzaga doesn't have the 800-pound gorilla that Tulsa does pulling away financial resources - football.

There is a tug of war between Tulsa in football and basketball, and the old basketball people at TU hate it. There was a big faction of TU alumni that was, two athletic directors ago, pushing TU to drop its football program to I-AA.

It's funny, though. Wojcik rebuilt the team fairly quickly. But, just winning consistently isn't enough for TU basketball. The old guys haven't been to an NCAA Tournament in 10 years now. The new athletic director is under pressure to change that...before they die, and football really takes over!