While XU Guys look to NBA, Udump's look at....

[Masterofreality]

Check this out from Dustin Dow's story yesterday about professional basketball opportunities:

"Norm Plummer would love to be in Cage's position. A Fairfield native, Plummer just finished his college career at the University of Southern Indiana after transferring from Dayton and is spending his summer trying to find basketball employment wherever he can. He attended a tryout camp in Indianapolis for a South American league and has applied for one of the 60-some spots for next month's Korean Basketball League camp in Las Vegas, the same camp Kirkland hopes to attend."

Here's the full story. (http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080622/SPT/806220421/1062)

[PMI]

Not sure I get it. Are we supposed to look down on a guy who is trying to pursue a career in basketball just because he won't be an NBA player and went to UD for part of his career? I have no more love for Dayton than anyone else here but really? We all know that Plummer never turned out to be the kind of player UD fans thought and hoped he'd be, and didn't even finish his career there. I think his disappointing career and the subsequent unhappiness the UD fans experienced is enough. I just don't get why some X fans continue to bring up Dayton, especially in such random, distant from the point manners. Everyone who looks at the XU-UD rivalry rationally knows how much better life is for Xavier fans than Dayton ones. Why don't we leave it to them to start sh!t?
When I hear X fans starting stuff with Dayton fans it seems to me like watching a player on the court talking trash to a drunk fan 8 sections up. They aren't even on the players level and everyone in the building knows who's better and more important, so why bother saying anything at all?

[Muskie]

I've had the occasion to be on the other side of the aisle (in legal terms) from a couple of decent Divsion I basketball players in the past couple of years. It's amazing the amount of money someone can make overseas. I'm happy that Cage is able to earn a living still at something he loves. I'll feel the same way for Plummer.

[Arnold Horshack]

This seems like an awful long way to go to try and get a shot in on a former UD player.

[Masterofreality]

Here's the point-

It is not a shot at Plummer per se. He's doing whatever he can.

It IS a shot at the type of talent that the Midget has, and continues to recruit at that school up north compared to the guys that Sean continues to bring to Victory Parkway. Obviously Gregory thought that Plummer had some talent, because he recruited him and gave him a scholarship. Plummer is just another example of the bad choices that Gregory makes in his evaluations.

Anytime there is an opportunity to show the chasm that exists between the two places, especially with the myopia of the Cryers' followers, it should be taken.

What, are we to become soft, squishy and "understanding" now toward those who follow u dump? I, for one, won't. Like PM Thor, I will point out their suckiness at every opportunity.

[xufan02]

I do not think Plummer was a bad get by BG, he just made some bad decision of his own ala Dedrick Finn. Cripe, Binnie, Alverez, and Thiago were bad decisions. Also I think UD is starting to get some better talent into their program. You can not deny Chris Wright will be a great player for them next year; with Mickey Perry and Marcus Johnson they are not going to be aweful. If they can sure up the point guard spot and develop a big man they could be a top 3 team year in and year out in the A-10.

Does all this mean they are going to have the same success as Xaver, hell no, but at least they are a good representative of the A-10 vs the likes of Fordham, La Salle, Bona, and Duquesne.

One a side note, I think Bona got a great local prospect in Davenport. I watched him at the Ohio-Kentucky allstar game and he played poor, but he looks like he has a lot of skill. Hopefully he can bring some life back to the Bonnies.

[Cincy Muskie]

Bona needs all the help they can get. Schmidty is already turning the roster over with players he recruited last year but he did get a good prospect in Davenport. One thing for sure they will be better. He is getting a couple of D1 transfers eligible this year who were productive players at Washington State and UTEP. Count me among those who will constantly point out UD's inferiority because if the shoe was on the other foot they would be bashing us unabatedly. The whole deal with Redford will forever be burned in my mind in regards to Swampy Meadows. They loved the kid before he committed to X and then Swamp went out of his way to start a campaign against Brad on why he shouldn't be Mr. Basketball in the state of Michigan. Give me a break.

[GuyFawkes38]

Yeah, the original post comes across as snotty.

Coudn't a UD fan bring up the name Justin Doelman. Nothing good can come out of this type of thinking.

[PMI]

MOR, upon further reflection I think I realize what is going on. You see I know what it's like to bitterly hate a rival. Being a Redskins fan I will admit that my hatred for the Dallas Cowboys steers every thought I have about them, which means I am at times irrational, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I point out all the negative things about them only and I hate their fans.
I guess the for me though, it is different when it comes to Dayton. I just graduated X and in my four years here Dayton never really felt like the big rivalry among students. In fact, growing up an X fan, I think I hate Dayton less now than I did before I came here. I just don't really care about them. They don't scare me and I find them easy to ignore. Xavier students love their team and expect to beat up on the A10. Every Dayton kid I've known which is a pretty good amount doesn't really care about UD basketball all that much. I just don't think the rivalry is the same as it was when some of the older fans were at Xavier. All older X and UD fans I know seem more passionate about that rivalry whereas most X fans my age consider UC the premiere rivalry. Not trying to get into that discussion, but I just feel like with the direction Xavier is going and the level they will hopefully soon reach, the UD rivalry just isn't as big a part of the whole thing as it used to be. That will probably get some of you going, but that's just from the perspective of X fans my age. I mean, they haven't won here in my lifetime. That's just funny and sad to me, it doesn't make me angry at them.
I will say this though, when I went to UD for the X game in 04-05 I found it easy to hate some of them, but it is was not much worse than going to GW, Temple, Richmond, etc. They all hate us too. It comes with being the daddy of the league.
I'm rooting for Plummer to be an NBA All-Star now so UD fans can do a better job of making me hate them as much as I'm supposed to.