We flat out cant shoot and should expect these pathetic performances. Sad to see the state of UTEP basketball. I was afraid this would happen. We are stuck in this horrible conference. Many people wished it and this is what we deserve. We dont have the players to win and distinguish ourselves. We can't even win this watered down league.
8 pts in the last 11 minutes says it all
- Thread starter East Coast Miner Fan
- Start date
You say we are stuck in this horrible conference but we don't seem to be able to win it so how horrible can it be. If Memphis could dominate this conference back in the day and flourish as a program, UTEP should be able to also. It's not the conference's fault that UTEP basketball isn't what it used to be. Gonzaga dominates it's conference without letting the conference to bring it down. UTEP's basketball history is fading to the background the longer we allow mediocre performance to be good enough.
So because UTEP cant consistently win this conference this makes this a better conference for us? I do not understand your logic. Memphis dominated CUSA back when the conference makeup was entirely different. That conference is night and day to ours. Our conference USED to be a top 10 RPI conference. We USED to get at large bids. Since then, SEVEN teams have left the conference. They have been replaced with powerhouse hoops programs like FIU, FAU, UNT, ODU, WKU, UTSA, LA Tech, UNCC, and MTSU. We are now the 17th rated RPI Conference.
Whether you like to believe it or not, conference affiliation matters. Top recruits don't want to play for CUSA or a one bid conference. Why would they want to? Most of the country cant catch the American Sports Network (I like in Houston and have seen zero games on tv). They'd rather play in the P5 on ESPN or even the AAC/MWC where those conferences do a better job of supporting their programs. Have you seen the high school gyms we play in? Programs erode if they no longer have a chance to compete against similar quality programs. You mentioned Gonzaga, yet Gonzaga now plays against BYU and St Marys regularly. Their RPI is 9th! http://realtimerpi.com/rpi_wcc_Men.html. That's leaps and bounds better than our sorry conference. Not too mention Mark Few is one of the top 10 coaches in the country! He can attract the best talent from the West Coast to play for them. We can't.
And this is WHY we should not allow mediocre performances to be good enough. I agree 100% with you. The longer we are complacent with this conference, the more we will be (ma)aligned with the UTSA, UNT, and FIUs of the world. Let's be proactive about conference realignment and not conformists. Mediocrity will destroy UTEP hoops.
Whether you like to believe it or not, conference affiliation matters. Top recruits don't want to play for CUSA or a one bid conference. Why would they want to? Most of the country cant catch the American Sports Network (I like in Houston and have seen zero games on tv). They'd rather play in the P5 on ESPN or even the AAC/MWC where those conferences do a better job of supporting their programs. Have you seen the high school gyms we play in? Programs erode if they no longer have a chance to compete against similar quality programs. You mentioned Gonzaga, yet Gonzaga now plays against BYU and St Marys regularly. Their RPI is 9th! http://realtimerpi.com/rpi_wcc_Men.html. That's leaps and bounds better than our sorry conference. Not too mention Mark Few is one of the top 10 coaches in the country! He can attract the best talent from the West Coast to play for them. We can't.
And this is WHY we should not allow mediocre performances to be good enough. I agree 100% with you. The longer we are complacent with this conference, the more we will be (ma)aligned with the UTSA, UNT, and FIUs of the world. Let's be proactive about conference realignment and not conformists. Mediocrity will destroy UTEP hoops.
I did not say that C-USA was the best conference for us. But it's the conference we are in and for the time being we have to make the best of it. The best conference for UTEP eventually would be the Big 12 but I doubt the Miners are headed there soon. If an opening came up for either the AAC or the MWC I would hope that UTEP would work hard to get an invite.
