Miller uses a private jet in recruiting? Who knew?
Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 6:59 pm
http://www.athlonsports.com/college-bas ... to-win-big
“We always have to be realistic about the world around us, and try not to trick ourselves that we are someone we’re not,” Xavier AD Mike Bobinski says. “But we also put no limits on ourselves. How do we accomplish what we can accomplish? Putting the right plan together is a day-to-day mindset.”
Bobinski has been at Xavier through much of its recent success. Dating back to 1983, the Musketeers have played in 18 NCAA Tournaments. That alone is reason to laud the program and its progress. For part of that period, however, X was thriving as a bully in a weak neighborhood, dominating the Midwestern Collegiate Conference until its move to the A-10 for the 1995-96 season. Since then, Xavier has committed itself to behaving more like a BCS school. In 2000, it opened the on-campus Cintas Center, which seats 10,250 and is as sharp as any place you’ll find in the nation. It has begun to get respect from the tournament selection committee as well, grabbing No. 3 seeds last season and in 2003 and No. 7 seeds in 2002 and ’04.
The fallout has been substantial. Not only is Xavier now considered a national factor, from its TV coverage to its recruiting scope; it is also behaving more like a team that belongs among the upper echelon of the country’s powers. When coach Sean Miller recruits, he often travels by private jet. The school’s locker and training facilities are first-rate. Assistant coaches’ salaries are more in line with those paid by BCS schools, helping to promote continuity. It comes down to a priority and a commitment designed to make Xavier basketball thrive.
“We always have to be realistic about the world around us, and try not to trick ourselves that we are someone we’re not,” Xavier AD Mike Bobinski says. “But we also put no limits on ourselves. How do we accomplish what we can accomplish? Putting the right plan together is a day-to-day mindset.”
Bobinski has been at Xavier through much of its recent success. Dating back to 1983, the Musketeers have played in 18 NCAA Tournaments. That alone is reason to laud the program and its progress. For part of that period, however, X was thriving as a bully in a weak neighborhood, dominating the Midwestern Collegiate Conference until its move to the A-10 for the 1995-96 season. Since then, Xavier has committed itself to behaving more like a BCS school. In 2000, it opened the on-campus Cintas Center, which seats 10,250 and is as sharp as any place you’ll find in the nation. It has begun to get respect from the tournament selection committee as well, grabbing No. 3 seeds last season and in 2003 and No. 7 seeds in 2002 and ’04.
The fallout has been substantial. Not only is Xavier now considered a national factor, from its TV coverage to its recruiting scope; it is also behaving more like a team that belongs among the upper echelon of the country’s powers. When coach Sean Miller recruits, he often travels by private jet. The school’s locker and training facilities are first-rate. Assistant coaches’ salaries are more in line with those paid by BCS schools, helping to promote continuity. It comes down to a priority and a commitment designed to make Xavier basketball thrive.
