MVC Tournament

[rrshock]

Lamb complaining in the Eagle this morning about having this tournament. We have these in baseball, softball and basketball. Get used to it. Win and you dont have to worry.

OK, after reading the comments he made, I can't blame him. He is right. And if the other coaches are questioning it as well, then maybe they should think about it. How much money does the MVC make off this tourney anyways?

Lamb obviously thought that MSU and WSU are both good enough to get into the dance, but since both lost before the finals, they are now firmly bubble teams. If the conference keeps having this happen, it will be easy for the committee to only take the tourney winner. I say get rid of the tourney until the conference becomes a little more solid and is a multi bid league every year. Because teams that are ranked in the top 25 and get snubbed from the dance because of the conference tourney will hurt the conference much worse than losing a couple of dollars.

[RoyalShock]

I, too, just read the comments. My first thought is that conference tournaments are just part of the sport. But if Elgin actually said it's better for our conference champ to lose in the tournament, the criticism was warranted. This isn't men's basketball or baseball, Mr. Elgin!

One thing about Lamb, there's no question how he feels about issues that affect his team.

[dregn]

Championship tied at 1-1, Ill St up 18-14 in game 3

[dregn]

Redbirds now down 2-1 after being up 25-21 in game 3 they go on to get beat 30-27

they are up 15-14 in the 4th set

[dregn]

UNI wins 4th 30-25 to win 3-1

Hopefully the Shocks can get an at large bid.

[ripemupshocks]

Lamb complaining in the Eagle this morning about having this tournament. We have these in baseball, softball and basketball. Get used to it. Win and you dont have to worry.

Have to agree with Lamb on this one. I've never liked conference tournaments in any sport. Conference tournaments have nothing to do with determining the best team. Thats done during the regular season. They were simply the idea of AD's who were looking to make more money. It really makes the conference regular season games pointless. And Lamb isn't the first coach who feels that way.

[rrshock]

Hopefully this doesn't hack Lambo off to where he wants out of the MVC.

[t7017s]

Let me start by saying that I really really like and respect coach lamb. That said he needs to quit crying. He knows the drill... he knows hes going to have to play through this tourny... Quit bitching and crying about it. If its a problem then go win the damn thing. I hate this attitude about the tourny. It reminds me of many mens basketball coaches like Boheim and williams (gary). Its not like this is some new thing. its been this way, he knows its this way, the girls know its this way, so put up or shut up. No excuses when you take season champs and have the coach and player of the year plus a few more first teamers. And lets be honest we have more than a few first teamers but the confrence cant exactly sell that to the rest of the teams and schools that participate. I really personally hope that this was just an unusual outburst of emotion and frustration. He needs to remember we are the class of the valley in volleyball and he needs to act it instead of crying about it. Almost sounds like hes already begging the selection committee. It doesnt look good, its not classy, and most importantly its disrespectful to the team that beat us fair and square in a game that everyone knew we would have to play. I mean come on...

[lemuel777]

I agree t7017s. A loss to Illinois State is crazy considering that was their second match of the day. But, I am sure Lamb is on edge with the holidays and still seething about the 2005 team getting ripped by the selection committee. It goes to show how tough the MVC was this year. We should get three or four teams into the tournament.

[rrshock]

Let me start by saying that I really really like and respect coach lamb. That said he needs to quit crying. He knows the drill... he knows hes going to have to play through this tourny... Quit bitching and crying about it. If its a problem then go win the damn thing. I hate this attitude about the tourny. It reminds me of many mens basketball coaches like Boheim and williams (gary). Its not like this is some new thing. its been this way, he knows its this way, the girls know its this way, so put up or shut up. No excuses when you take season champs and have the coach and player of the year plus a few more first teamers. And lets be honest we have more than a few first teamers but the confrence cant exactly sell that to the rest of the teams and schools that participate. I really personally hope that this was just an unusual outburst of emotion and frustration. He needs to remember we are the class of the valley in volleyball and he needs to act it instead of crying about it. Almost sounds like hes already begging the selection committee. It doesnt look good, its not classy, and most importantly its disrespectful to the team that beat us fair and square in a game that everyone knew we would have to play. I mean come on...

You seriously wouldn't be mad if the conference commissioner told you that he wants the top seed to lose the tourney, thus probably screwing the conference out of a better chance in the NCAAs? I'd have been mad as hell if the comish told me that too.

[RoyalShock]

That tactic is fine for men's basketball, where the regular season champ almost always has a good NCAA resume.

Volleyball isn't there yet and Elgin needs to understand that.

[SpanglerFan316]

Let me start by saying that I really really like and respect coach lamb. That said he needs to quit crying. He knows the drill... he knows hes going to have to play through this tourny... Quit bitching and crying about it. If its a problem then go win the damn thing. I hate this attitude about the tourny. It reminds me of many mens basketball coaches like Boheim and williams (gary). Its not like this is some new thing. its been this way, he knows its this way, the girls know its this way, so put up or shut up. No excuses when you take season champs and have the coach and player of the year plus a few more first teamers. And lets be honest we have more than a few first teamers but the confrence cant exactly sell that to the rest of the teams and schools that participate. I really personally hope that this was just an unusual outburst of emotion and frustration. He needs to remember we are the class of the valley in volleyball and he needs to act it instead of crying about it. Almost sounds like hes already begging the selection committee. It doesnt look good, its not classy, and most importantly its disrespectful to the team that beat us fair and square in a game that everyone knew we would have to play. I mean come on...

For independent reasons, I have decided to post very infrequently on SN; who knows, this might be my last post for several years? ;-) In this case, I feel obligated to say something.

1. Chris and Shannon Lamb (and Jeff and the rest of the staff) have raised Shocker volleyball from a "contender" who usually finished around fourth in the Valley to the premier program in the Valley; Phil Shoemaker never won the conference title and never took the Shocks to the tourney. Lamb does this on a budget that, in general, allows him to take the team to Hawaii only once every four years; this year's trip to Hawaii to play Hawaii, Santa Clara and EW may be the difference between a NCAA tourney invite and being left home like in 2005. I find it insulting for a Shocker supporter on SN to diss Coach Lamb.

2. Coach Lamb is correct. There is no good reason to hold this conference tourney. Several "BCS" conferences don't hold a post-season conference tourney to determine the automatic selection to the NCAA Tournament. Suppose Lamb gets an offer from a SEC, Big Ten or Pac Ten school? He turned down OU once. If we lose him, do you think we'll get a "VB Gregg Marshall" or a "Mary Estes" for our next coach? (Do you even know anything about Mary Estes?)

[wushock]

I guess Lamb should let Elgin handle the Mo Valley as they got 4 teams in the big dance, however, didn't like WSU draw very well

[rrshock]

I guess Lamb should let Elgin handle the Mo Valley as they got 4 teams in the big dance, however, didn't like WSU draw very well

I garun-frickin-tee you that Elgin didn't have jack squat to do with 4 teams getting in. It was those 4 teams coaches that got those teams there.

[wushock]

Then why did Lamb have to spout off. Everything works out