Horrible article about us on ESPN

[jpshocker]

I say the university adopts the Super Car Guys ad slogan......."watching basketball doesn't have to suck."

[DUShock]

I say the university adopts the Super Car Guys ad slogan......."watching basketball doesn't have to suck."

But in my house we all turn the channel when one of their commercials comes on, even my eleven year old. Buying a car doesn't have suck but their commercials sure do.

[IlliniShocker]

And I could say that if he wasn't aware of "Play Angry" then we probably weren't doing a good enough job of getting that out there. But seriously, it was everywhere, to the point that I'm kind of sick of it.

I won't say outright that I'm sick of it, since it's still something cool and original. But it was painful to be watching games, especially the FSKC and ESPN ones, where the announcers were absolutely beating it to death.

I just thought it was interesting that such an obviously uneducated and misinformed article would be on espn.

Maybe it's just the cynic in me, but think long and hard about this statement for a minute. Then get back to me telling me you're still surprised.

[Shock Therapy]

I say the university adopts the Super Car Guys ad slogan......."watching basketball doesn't have to suck."

I can honestly say that I now hate you for even suggesting this. :)

[Ricardo del Rio]

From ESPN

Everyone loves a good Cinderella story in March, and glass slippers fit best on mid-major powerhouses that prove they can play with the big boys on college basketball’s biggest stage.

It’s a script that has played itself out several times over the past few years. In fact, last season Wichita State became the fourth mid-major team to advance to the Final Four in as many years, joining Butler in 2010 and 2011, as well as VCU in 2011.

[+] EnlargeAP Photo/Charlie Neibergall/FileCoach Gregg Marshall and the Shockers have yet to see recruiting take off as a result of last season's Final Four run.


When an incredibly rare occurrence starts to become a growing trend, it’s worth investigating, and so from a recruiting perspective we’re interested in two things:

First, how were these teams built? Was there something in the teams' recruiting philosophy or patterns in their personnel that could help create a template for mid-major success?

And second, what were the recruiting implications of their post-season success? Were the teams' automatically able to recruit higher-caliber prospects?

In Wichita State’s case, its Final Four roster was built with a heavy emphasis from the junior college ranks. Coach Gregg Marshall rebuilt the program from the ground up in his six seasons on the job, and a big part of that was his ability to mine the junior college ranks for immediate impact talent. Cleanthony Early, Carl Hall, and Malcolm Armstead, arguably the best three players from last season's team, all attended jucos prior to arriving at Wichita State, as did several of their teammates.

VCU’s 2011 run to the Final Four came with a roster that had similar age and experience, but almost no connection to the junior college ranks. In fact, virtually all of the team’s top performers were recruited by Shaka Smart’s predecessor, current Alabama coach Anthony Grant.

Butler’s initial Final Four run came with a much younger team as sophomores Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack were two of the team’s most important contributors, along with junior Matt Howard.

While the rosters, and even styles of play, varied significantly among these teams, what unified both Smart’s VCU program and Butler under former coach Brad Stevens was their understanding of how to maximize the national exposure that goes along with a trip to the Final Four, and specifically their understanding of how to brand both themselves and their programs when every camera in American was rolling.

Stevens coined the term "The Butler Way" to classify the combination of skill, intelligence, and toughness that characterized his most successful teams. "Havoc" became the calling card for Smart’s VCU team, as a term that was once intended to represent its defensive pressure grew into a symbol for the overall mindset and style of the entire program.

Those brands became synonymous with those respective coaches and programs, and they continued to grow in subsequent seasons along with the continued success that both programs had, despite the fact that neither has returned to the Final Four since 2011.

It’s no coincidence that while Smart’s 2012 recruiting class at VCU was an especially good one coming off its trip to the Final Four, its 2014 class is even better with three ESPN 100 products -- including No. 42 prospect Terry Larrier -- and a fourth prospect just on the cusp of the top 100 in point guard Jonathan Williams.





Butler was seeing similar recruiting success prior to Stevens’ departure for the Boston Celtics. The Bulldogs were staying true to their philosophies in the recruiting process, but were undeniably able to get involved with higher-caliber prospects like Trevon Bluiett, Riley Norris, and Riley LaChance, all of whom ended up elsewhere after Stevens’ exit.

Conversely, while Wichita State surpassed both Butler and VCU by following up its Final Four run with an undefeated regular season and No. 1 seed heading into the NCAA tournament, the Shockers have so far failed to capitalize on the opportunity to brand their program in a way that will survive the test of time.

Ask a recruit what Wichita State stands for as a basketball program and you will likely be met by an empty stare. That’s not unlike the vast majority of other programs in the country, but ultimately that was what made Stevens and Smart special -- not just the success they had on the court.

Instead, it was actually Florida Gulf Coast and Andy Enfield who capitalized on the opportunity to create a brand during last season’s tournament as “Dunk City” not only symbolized a style of play but a brand of basketball that perspective recruits could get excited about. That momentum shot him across the country, which would have been virtually inconceivable before the tournament started.

But branding isn’t just about recruiting and building toward the future; it’s also about creating an identity for your current program, and in so doing creating a mid-major template.

Smart, Stevens and even Enfield fueled their recruiting efforts with a brand that was consistent with the type of basketball that they wanted to play as coaches. Smart’s defensive system is a descendant of what he learned under Oliver Purnell at Clemson. Enfield plays a similarly up-tempo style and his brand reflects that. Stevens is a thinker and statistician who values efficiency on both ends of the floor and his brand reflected that. As a consequence, all three were not only able to market their programs to a higher caliber of recruit, they were also able to market their program to recruits who were uniquely qualified to flourish in their particular style. In so doing, they created a mid-major template for turning one magical run into a path toward something far more timeless.

As we prepare for the NCAA tournament, everyone wants to know who this season's version of Cinderella will be, but ultimately what could be far more important is whether or not Cinderella has a sense of marketing and brand management, since it will go a long way toward the teams' ability to live happily ever after.

[Shock Therapy]

I won't say outright that I'm sick of it, since it's still something cool and original. But it was painful to be watching games, especially the FSKC and ESPN ones, where the announcers were absolutely beating it to death.

Three words: Play Angry Points

That phrase made me want to rip my speakers off of the walls just so I wouldn't have to hear it again.

But yeah, I'm not REALLY sick of play angry. It just gets over used.

[Shock Top]

Three words: Play Angry Points

That phrase made me want to rip my speakers off of the walls just so I wouldn't have to hear it again.

But yeah, I'm not REALLY sick of play angry. It just gets over used.

Any pub, is good pub.

Hell, even Michigan borrowed the "Play Angry" motto.

[KC Shox]

Judging by you quick, antagonistic need to post and defend the author on a Shocker message board, maybe it's you that needs to lighten up.

So is the timeout period starting in April or what?

Yep, after WSU's run through March Madness is when my hiatus will begin. However, a part of me wants to ignore my promise in the belief that it will somehow irritate WuDr. But I won't be so bold to assume little 'ol KC Shox is that important to him. But I got an inkling that it would.

[Aargh]

Interesting. Lots of hatred for "Buying a car doesn't have to suck", but those who hate it remember SuperCarGuys, who was never heard of until the ad campaign. The commercial you hate did what few commercials ever do - get the viewer to remember the name of the sponsor.

"Play Angry" got repeated SO MANY times and will be repeated SO MANY MORE times, but - you know what? That's what will make the viewing public remember "Wichita State". As to "The Butler" - isn't that a local plumbing company owned by a former Shocker baseball player?

[pie n eye]

I think the problem with the super car guys is that, while you definitely remember it, it's so ****ing annoying that I would never buy a car there if it was the last dealership on earth. However, I might not be their target audience.

[wu_shizzle]

This "article" smells about a year old.

My guess is that it's click bate for ESPN's Recruiting site.

It's written for their target customer who thinks that recruiting rankings directly equal wins.

See: 40-0 Kentucky t-shirts.

[WstateU]

This "article" smells about a year old.

My guess is that it's click bate for ESPN's Recruiting site.

It's written for their target customer who thinks that recruiting rankings directly equal wins.

See: 40-0 Kentucky t-shirts.

B-I-N-G-O!

[Jhook89]

I follow college basketball quite closely and I can honestly say that I've never heard of "The Butler Way". Either I've just somehow missed it or it isn't really that well known.

I would bet Havoc is currently slightly ahead of Play Angry nationally with The Butler Way a distant 3rd.

Haha I was thinking that the time I was reading it.

I think VCU and Butler are very good programs and both are positioned to do well going forward. Butler just lost their coach and are in a transition period. It is unfair to say they will always be in the cellar of the BE. I am sure if 3g ever left here we would have a couple down years before picking up the pieces.

[WstateU]

As to "The Butler" - isn't that a local plumbing company owned by a former Shocker baseball player?

I've had nightmares about having to call "The Butler"; note to self, don't 'Crap Angry'.

[Jhook89]

I don't have insider, but just basing off of what's been posted in this thread:
I've been thinking about getting ESPN Insider, but if that's a typical piece, I sure as heck am not going to pay for that.

As terrible as this article is I would still say insider is worth it. It is surprisingly cheap and you get access to A LOT of articles and information. I especially like it because you get to see much more when it comes to recruiting or drafting (depending on what sport you are looking at).