I would think 20 wins at Arch Madness and an NIT would be quite enough to earn an extension. That is possible to do while finishing as low as fifth in this conference providing you don't have any bad losses in non-con. Next season is going to be a very even and competitive conference race, I think-- WSU will be a bit closer to the league average, Drake and Bradley will be much improved, UNI and Evansville will be re-tooling, and SIU loses one of their all time biggest scorers. If Andres can contribute a lot right away on the inside, if Custer is as good as advertised, and if Doyle and Ingram can live up to potential with more consistency, I could see us in the top 3, probably with MSU and ISUr.
The process of changing coaches almost always comes with 1-2 years of misery in adjustment, years where attendance drops (unless you've got a huge name coming in), the rebuilding clock is set back, and the roster is regenerated. But I don't know if any "rules" apply at Loyola-- we've got a women's basketball Hall of Famer coaching before crowds of 250 people; a back-to-back NCAA championship men's volleyball team still ranked and only pulling in 440 or so per match, and a home men's basketball attendance about 65% of what it was in 2010 despite a move to a much better overall league.
I really think we need a broadcasting crew back again, and some kind of radio presence, even it it is low power WLUW or similar.
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