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Tommy Boy Doubles Down!!!
"TOM DAVIS: Regardless of (ongoing) criticism, I stand by my thoughts regarding Butler prospect" - News Sentinel (Fort Wayne, IN)
by Tom Davis
Posted: 04/18/18
"The first reverberations from a Butler basketball-related column I wrote late Monday came within minutes of posting it at News-Sentinel.com.
The feedback, some good, but most critical, continued while I was in the shower this morning, through my drive to a Notre Dame football press conference, and into the afternoon....
• His selection between Butler and Wichita State leads me to believe that his decision is being made primarily based on basketball due to the stark differences in the two institutions.
Despite the continued wrath, I stand by those two points....
To the second point, again, I offer no apologies.
Choosing a college is arguably the most impactful and critical decision a teen has made up to this point in his/her life and it truly has permanent ramifications, so it should not be done lightly. Nor should it be based on the one factor (athletics) that holds no long-term relevancy.
In Burton’s deciding between Butler (which he visited over the weekend) and Wichita State (where he currently is) demonstrates to me that basketball is the overriding factor in his decision and, as I wrote Monday, is very short-sighted on his part.
Both the Shockers and Bulldogs will provide a first-rate athletic experience in every way. Burton will win a lot of games with both programs and he’ll enjoy training in facilities that have launched professional careers of many athletes.
Aside from the fact that the Big East Conference is significantly higher ranked (second) than the American Athletic Conference (seventh), there isn’t a huge difference between the two choices.
On the court.
However, off of it, the differences are numerous and substantial.
Butler is the more well-regarded academic institution (see U.S. News and World Report’s latest rankings) and within the men’s basketball program more diligence is put forth in that regard.
In the latest 10-year statistics posted by the NCAA, the Bulldog men’s basketball program hasn’t had a GSR (Graduation Success Rate) lower than 80 percent and has been above 90 five times, including a perfect 100 percent for the final year in the study.
The same can’t be said for the Shockers.
In the same time period, Wichita State has been below 75 percent seven times (including a low rate of 50) and recorded a 64 in the final season of the tabulation.
In closing, I’m not going to alter my stance on these two points regarding Burton’s recruitment despite any criticism (which has come from both sides) and I’m certainly not going to change my willingness to write my opinion.
If you want to read articles with unquestioned loyalty and favoritism toward your beloved squad, then I am – at times – going to disappoint you. I am who I am.
Best of luck to Burton wherever he chooses to attend college and my advice is to do so with very, very careful consideration for a lot of impactful areas which will provide the best, most well-rounded experience."
"TOM DAVIS: Regardless of (ongoing) criticism, I stand by my thoughts regarding Butler prospect" - News Sentinel (Fort Wayne, IN)
by Tom Davis
Posted: 04/18/18
"The first reverberations from a Butler basketball-related column I wrote late Monday came within minutes of posting it at News-Sentinel.com.
The feedback, some good, but most critical, continued while I was in the shower this morning, through my drive to a Notre Dame football press conference, and into the afternoon....
• His selection between Butler and Wichita State leads me to believe that his decision is being made primarily based on basketball due to the stark differences in the two institutions.
Despite the continued wrath, I stand by those two points....
To the second point, again, I offer no apologies.
Choosing a college is arguably the most impactful and critical decision a teen has made up to this point in his/her life and it truly has permanent ramifications, so it should not be done lightly. Nor should it be based on the one factor (athletics) that holds no long-term relevancy.
In Burton’s deciding between Butler (which he visited over the weekend) and Wichita State (where he currently is) demonstrates to me that basketball is the overriding factor in his decision and, as I wrote Monday, is very short-sighted on his part.
Both the Shockers and Bulldogs will provide a first-rate athletic experience in every way. Burton will win a lot of games with both programs and he’ll enjoy training in facilities that have launched professional careers of many athletes.
Aside from the fact that the Big East Conference is significantly higher ranked (second) than the American Athletic Conference (seventh), there isn’t a huge difference between the two choices.
On the court.
However, off of it, the differences are numerous and substantial.
Butler is the more well-regarded academic institution (see U.S. News and World Report’s latest rankings) and within the men’s basketball program more diligence is put forth in that regard.
In the latest 10-year statistics posted by the NCAA, the Bulldog men’s basketball program hasn’t had a GSR (Graduation Success Rate) lower than 80 percent and has been above 90 five times, including a perfect 100 percent for the final year in the study.
The same can’t be said for the Shockers.
In the same time period, Wichita State has been below 75 percent seven times (including a low rate of 50) and recorded a 64 in the final season of the tabulation.
In closing, I’m not going to alter my stance on these two points regarding Burton’s recruitment despite any criticism (which has come from both sides) and I’m certainly not going to change my willingness to write my opinion.
If you want to read articles with unquestioned loyalty and favoritism toward your beloved squad, then I am – at times – going to disappoint you. I am who I am.
Best of luck to Burton wherever he chooses to attend college and my advice is to do so with very, very careful consideration for a lot of impactful areas which will provide the best, most well-rounded experience."
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