Good read on SEC basketball by Gary Parrish

[DawgatAuburn]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/feature/24938808/second-class-conference

There's nothing really groundbreaking here, and in fact I think it might paint the picture a little too rosy. I don't know that everyone is sold on Anderson, Fox, Jones, Billy Kennedy and Martin turning those five programs around as is mentioned as a cause for optimism. Pearl may improve Auburn but Auburn will be in the catch-22 of winning but possibly losing the coach, because I think he jumps on the first big time offer that comes his way. If he keeps his nose clean here for 3-4 years, I could see him landing at a place like Louisville if/when Pitino decided he had had enough.

But to underscore our current state of affairs, 11 of the 14 SEC schools are referenced somewhere in the piece (aside from the chart with all of them listed). Tennessee, Missouri and #HailState are the three who didn't even merit a mention. I guess this is as close as it gets:

Auburn aggressively pursued and handsomely paid Bruce Pearl last March and by extension added a proven coaching star to the league. Frank Martin has South Carolina headed in the right direction, Mike Anderson might finally have a team that can break through at Arkansas, Mark Fox has a veteran Georgia squad on pace to make this season's NCAA Tournament, and Johnny Jones and Billy Kennedy are recruiting solidly at LSU and Texas A&M, all of which is enough to create hope for a better future.

Does every SEC school have the right coach in place now?

No.

But the league is in a better spot today than it's been in a while.


Also of note is the barometer by which Gary Parrish chooses to measure a program's recent historical success in point #3. Sweet 16 appearances. Has this board ever discussed Sweet 16 appearances??***********************************************************************************

 

[57stratdawg]

"Coaches haven't worked out" seems like a symptom as much as the cause.

 

[Seinfeld]

I've always liked Parrish. I suppose he didn't have any choice but to exclude MSU because anything that he could have written about us would have run counter to his primary argument

And, despite what some think, there's a lot of evidence that suggests the SEC is genuinely trying to change and actually changing.

**Except in Starkville

Looking at the 247 class rankings for 2015, I see that Ray's class that was getting everyone excited a few months ago has dropped to 52nd now that other teams have actually received commitments. I'm afraid that this sinking ship doesn't have a chance to change course until we make a major change

 

[esplanade91]

Mr. Basketball for Alabama (obviously referring to Bear) chose to play football despite never really even playing it.

The few "inner cities" we have and the few D1 prospects those produce are picked by schools whose basketball team is more popular than the football team, generally being away from the south.

There's definitely a trade-off between having a dominant football team and conference when it comes to other men's sports (the same principal applies to why the southeast dominates track... A significant portion of these athletes letter in other sports). I don't know how much coaching can truly overcome our pool of talent.

 

[tenureplan]

So is being an afterthought better than being mentioned for the wrong reasons?

 

[BiscuitEater]

Link in Parish Story ...

Shows that MSU has the absolute SMALLEST BB budget in the SEC coming in @ #82 in the country. Meanwhile, Kentucky's budget is 3.2 times what States is at $13.67M.

Florida, Arkansas & Auburn are ~ double our budget. Surprised that OM is > $1M more than State's.

For 2013, SEC BB Expenses ...

4 $13,672,723 Kentucky

14 $8,227,621 Florida

15 $8,217,023 Arkansas

17 $8,016,340 Auburn

28 $7,084,431 Vanderbilt

34 $6,535,615 South Carolina

37 $6,373,598 Texas A&M

39 $6,354,140 Alabama

40 $6,351,687 Missouri

52 $5,953,014 Georgia

59 $5,490,301 Mississippi

67 $5,283,297 Louisiana State

74 $4,856,478 Tennessee

82 $4,312,955 Mississippi State

<tbody>
</tbody><colgroup><col></colgroup>

 

[DawgatAuburn]

Would be interesting to pull the coaching staff salaries out of that and see what others are spending sans salaries.

Also, for those who didn't click the link and want to propose that we're not spending enough to win.....81 is Xavier. 83 is Butler.

 

[esplanade91]

I would imagine our budget was a lot higher in 2010 or so. We were giving away iPads at every single game and each game was jam packed with sponsorships and advertisement.

 

[Bulldogg31]

What does a basketball program spend $$ on, other than coaches, travel, and equipment? I honestly have no idea.

 

[DawgatAuburn]

What does football spend it on aside from the things you mentioned? Baseball?

 

[Bulldogg31]

I don't know! That is a shiptile of money and I've no idea what they spend it on. Stadium cups? Yeti coolers?

No idea.

 

[DawgatAuburn]

Me either. It was a serious question back to you. Your three examples are so broad they cover everything. Stadium cups and Yeti coolers....Equipment!

Recruiting....Travel

Football's total staff (coaches, administrators, grads, undergrads) is probably 10 times the size of basketball so their staff costs are higher for sure.

 

[Bulldogg31]

Me either. It was a serious question back to you. Your three examples are so broad they cover everything. Stadium cups and Yeti coolers....Equipment!

Recruiting....Travel

Football's total staff (coaches, administrators, grads, undergrads) is probably 10 times the size of basketball so their staff costs are higher for sure.

I'm guessing scholly's are in there somewhere. It would be interesting to see a ledger from Alabama's football program.

 

[esplanade91]

Advertising, OOC opponents, travel, recruiting expenses (hotels, rentals cars, flights), stadium operations, scholarships, and salaries for coaches.

In 2010 or so we were putting up billboards and giving away all sorts of freebies at games, we were invited to Hawaii (hahahahaha) and playing a much less regional schedule, and our stuff was a lot more expensive than our current one.

All those things add up, and there's no question that we've slimmed down our spending regarding basketball. Smartly. I don't put that much stock on the fact that we're currently spending less because we've proven as a school and fanbase to put a lot of emphasis on basketball when it warrants attention. I don't see football spending taking resources from basketball, rather I see the talent playing football. I'm sure there are dozens across the conference who could start for many D1 programs but chose not to.