Boston University 2012-13 Season Thread -- Part II

[DaveStPaul]

Re: Boston University 2012-13 Season Thread -- Part II

Any BU-Harvard video highlights from last night anywhere? I tried BHB, HockeyEastOnline, nesn -- nothing.

[Rover]

What I'm saying is that a hugely successful athletic program like BU Hockey, which has taken on a life of its own over the years, is really an anomaly at a school like this. So it's going to be hard to translate that passion for people who (and they now predominate from when we used to be a commuter school) could care less about sports. Maybe the time has come to modify our goals...just thinking out loud...

Absolutely, positively, 100% disagree with "modifying our goals". For 400 bucks a year in season tix, the goal d @mn well better be national championships. It makes zero sense that Quinnipiac can sport a #1 team and we finish last in a 4 team tournament in our backyard. Nothing about the school makes it harder to win, in fact given all the school does is play hockey it ought to be easier as there's less drain on resources. Get a good younger coach in here (we all know the names) and take it from there.

[chickod]

Re: Boston University 2012-13 Season Thread -- Part II

Any BU-Harvard video highlights from last night anywhere? I tried BHB, HockeyEastOnline, nesn -- nothing.

there aren't any highlights...just lowlights...

but seriously, why would anyone (besides us) care?

[ericredaxe]

Re: Boston University 2012-13 Season Thread -- Part II

I understand where you're going with this, but I don't think the analogy is appropriate. Until the recent "explosion" of Division I schools who have suddenly decided to add hockey, there were only a HANDFUL of top programs in the country. Put another way, it was "easier" to be an elite program in hockey as opposed to basketball, where there are currently 347 schools playing Division I. So it's unreasonable to expect UCLA to be "elite" every year.
..

I'm not sure I agree with what you are saying. There are indeed many more D1 basketball programs, although many many of them are not and never will be signifigant in terms of the national scope. I'd also guess that there are a proportonate number of more high school basketball players than there are hockey players, so percentage-wise teams are competing for recruits etc in the same way.

Duke is "elite" every year. Other programs such as UNC, Kentucky and others are "elite" more often than not.... no reason UCLA couldn't be. I suppose some of that depends on how you define "elite".

[Harry Cleverly]

Re: Boston University 2012-13 Season Thread -- Part II

This part is true... if what I remember JP saying more than once is that he does not intend to coach beyond his current contract... so at most I belive it is the year after next when the post parker era would begin.

Are we 100% convinced that the successor will be Quinn, Sullivan or Hynes? I'm still waiting to hear other possibilities. I can't believe BU would just toss the keys to one of those guys just because that is what has been talked about for a while without doing a lot of other due dilligance.

Parker's contract runs through 2014-15.

[ericredaxe]

Re: Boston University 2012-13 Season Thread -- Part II

Parker's contract runs through 2014-15.

Thats correct... I guess I meant that at most, the end of the season, the year after next would begin the post Parker era...

[chickod]

Re: Boston University 2012-13 Season Thread -- Part II

Absolutely, positively, 100% disagree with "modifying our goals". For 400 bucks a year in season tix, the goal d @mn well better be national championships. It makes zero sense that Quinnipiac can sport a #1 team and we finish last in a 4 team tournament in our backyard. Nothing about the school makes it harder to win, in fact given all the school does is play hockey it ought to be easier as there's less drain on resources. Get a good younger coach in here (we all know the names) and take it from there.

I knew that would arouse a few comments...what I meant is that I don't think we can expect the level of dominance that we demonstrated in the 70s - 90s period. Whether anyone wants to accept it or not, the opinion that BU is "in in the middle of one of the more interesting cities in the country" is subjective. And whether or not that's true doesn't change the fact that it is NOT a sports school. If YOU were visiting schools and went to a game at Agganis and saw 2719 people sitting on their hands (except when it's against BC), how impressed would you be? (and that has NOTHING to do with their record - it was like that in 2009). It was embarrassing to go to the HE tourney and be outnumbered when we're three miles up the road. Go to a game in Wisconsin, or Michigan, or Notre Dame, or anywhere OUTSIDE the snobby, condescending, cynical East and you should understand what I mean. I said years ago on this board that although I love hockey and I love BU (because I graduated from there) I HATE the lack of enthusiasm of the fans. I know that people here are too "sophisticated" to actually exert themselves beyond a polite little clap. How many high schools in Massachusetts have male cheerleaders? How many have large, great high school bands? You know why? Because they are LAUGHED at. Band members are called band "fa*s." The entire arrogant, elitist culture here makes me sick. Even Tom Brady has to "lecture" the fans to make noise for a big game. Yeah, they "yell" for about a half second then go back to sitting and criticizing. You know, just check your attitude at the door, go have a good time and CHEER! Most people in this area think sports are stupid (unless, of course, they're "European" sports like soccer...because that's a CIVILIZED game). And before you laugh too hard, don't be surprised when they get high school football banned because of violence. They already filed a bill in the Rhode Island legislature to do just that. So recruiting is not as much of a slam dunk as you think.

[mookie1995]

Re: Boston University 2012-13 Season Thread -- Part II

Parker's contract runs through 2014-15.

two more ****ing years of this ****?!?!?! c'mon!!

[Nick Papagiorgio]

Re: Boston University 2012-13 Season Thread -- Part II

Duke is "elite" every year. Other programs such as UNC, Kentucky and others are "elite" more often than not.... no reason UCLA couldn't be. I suppose some of that depends on how you define "elite".

Paging mookie.

[chickod]

Re: Boston University 2012-13 Season Thread -- Part II

I suppose some of that depends on how you define "elite".

Teams that have won the NCAA Division 1 Basketball Championship More Than Once

UCLA 11
Kentucky 8
Indiana 5
North Carolina 5
Duke 4
Connecticut 3
Kansas 3
Cincinnati 2
Florida 2
Louisville 2
Michigan State 2
North Carolina St 2
Oklahoma State 2
San Francisco 2

# of Division 1 NCAA Hockey Championships
Michigan 9
Denver 7
North Dakota 7
Wisconsin 6
Boston University 5
Boston College 5
Minnesota 5

This means that SEVEN schools have as many or more championships in hockey than all but TWO schools do in basketball. There may be more basketball "talent" to choose from, but there's a finite number of elite persons in any field of endeavor. It's not a straight-line function. The numbers don't scale like that. If that were true, than there would be 100 Einsteins and Galileos because there are 100 times as many people on the earth as there were 300 years ago.

Now explain to me again how "terrible" UCLA's program is....only two schools in HISTORY have won more basketball championships than we have won hockey championships. And they've been playing the NCAA tournament since 1939 (when Oregon won). Before that, the NIT was actually the "elite" tournament before an NCAA tournament was even conceived of. So they've been playing basketball for 74 years and NCAA Hockey for 63.

My only point was that I don't think the analogy is comparable. Hockey is still a "niche" and a "regional" sport. Just because you put an NHL team someplace doesn't mean that a majority of kids will play that sport (as they do in areas where the weather is more conducive to playing "unorganized"). Unorganized play is where you develop your skills, because the time you get on the ice (or court, or field, or whatever) is essentially limited only by your ambition. I don't think the kids in Phoenix skate on the ponds there, last time I checked. There are at least double the number of schools playing Division 1 hockey than there were 15 years ago and you can't tell me that the number of elite players in the NCAA is also double. Well, you can, but I would disagree with you.

[ericredaxe]

Re: Boston University 2012-13 Season Thread -- Part II

Teams that have won the NCAA Division 1 Basketball Championship More Than Once

UCLA 11
Kentucky 8
Indiana 5
North Carolina 5
Duke 4
Connecticut 3
Kansas 3
Cincinnati 2
Florida 2
Louisville 2
Michigan State 2
North Carolina St 2
Oklahoma State 2
San Francisco 2

# of Division 1 NCAA Hockey Championships
Michigan 9
Denver 7
North Dakota 7
Wisconsin 6
Boston University 5
Boston College 5
Minnesota 5

This means that SEVEN schools have as many or more championships in hockey than all but TWO schools do in basketball. There may be more basketball "talent" to choose from, but there's a finite number of elite persons in any field of endeavor. It's not a straight-line function. The numbers don't scale like that. If that were true, than there would be 100 Einsteins and Galileos because there are 100 times as many people on the earth as there were 300 years ago.

Now explain to me again how "terrible" UCLA's program is....only two schools in HISTORY have won more basketball championships than we have won hockey championships. And they've been playing the NCAA tournament since 1939 (when Oregon won). Before that, the NIT was actually the "elite" tournament before an NCAA tournament was even conceived of. So they've been playing basketball for 74 years and NCAA Hockey for 63.

My only point was that I don't think the analogy is comparable. Hockey is still a "niche" and a "regional" sport. Just because you put an NHL team someplace doesn't mean that a majority of kids will play that sport (as they do in areas where the weather is more conducive to playing "unorganized"). Unorganized play is where you develop your skills, because the time you get on the ice (or court, or field, or whatever) is essentially limited only by your ambition. I don't think the kids in Phoenix skate on the ponds there, last time I checked. There are at least double the number of schools playing Division 1 hockey than there were 15 years ago and you can't tell me that the number of elite players in the NCAA is also double. Well, you can, but I would disagree with you.

How are you defining "elite" then? Do you agree that Duke is "elite" pretty much every year?

My point is that I don't believe it is any easier to maintain a hockey program at an elite level than it is a basketball program.

[mookie1995]

Re: Boston University 2012-13 Season Thread -- Part II

Paging mookie.

sorry... mookie was wondering how chickrod manages to survive in f'burf

elite isn't a 'sometime' affair. you either are, or you are not.

bu, in spite of themselves, continue to get top 10 recruiting classes (as mookie demonstrated a couple days ago).
they continue to throw money/resources/etc at the program.
we (sometimes) make the post season tournament.
we have (recently) won national titles - again, only two different teams have won a title since we did 4 years ago.

perception has a big role in whether you are elite or not. again, in spite of ourselves, bu is still in that category.

for how much longer?? your guess is as good as mine when you look at how things are continuing to progress.

[Nick Papagiorgio]

Re: Boston University 2012-13 Season Thread -- Part II

My point is that I don't believe it is any easier to maintain a hockey program at an elite level than it is a basketball program.

I would agree with this 100%.

[DaveStPaul]

Re: Boston University 2012-13 Season Thread -- Part II

Any BU-Harvard video highlights from last night anywhere? I tried BHB, HockeyEastOnline, nesn -- nothing.

but seriously, why would anyone (besides us) care?

Well, if "how many people care" was a barrier to getting something posted on the internet, we'd have a very different world, wouldn't we. How many people cared about Lowell-Merrimack on Feb 1? Those highlights are online.

Since I've been able to find video for just about every other game, I figured either I was cluelessly missing where they were for this game, or NESN is stingier with their video -- which someone on here in media might know, and could inform me, and I'd stop searching the interwebs.

There is one set of highlights, on Harvard's YouTube page, but they only show H's goals. (Plus they've got some amazing bad music accompanying it. What does Harvard do, outsource the making of these to local 14 yr olds? Don't they have a communications department over there? )

[Nick Papagiorgio]

Re: Boston University 2012-13 Season Thread -- Part II

NESN didn't televise this game so they probably didn't have much video of it. If BU and Harvard don't make clips of it you won't find them.