I am not a basketball "insider", I have no knowledge of internal issues...but that said

[Eurocat]

I am watching Stanford right now on ESPN in the NIT and I scratch my head why we turned that tournament down.

Yes, some players could use some time off, heal up. Good. Give the backups a chance, even the walk-on's who would love to play on national TV.

Oh well.

 

[Hungry Jack]

Players’ choice from what some here have said. My guess is that they are physically spent.

 

[Davidgolds5]

Players’ choice from what some here have said. My guess is that they are physically spent.

Our coach might be busy as well.

 

[hdhntr1]

I am watching Stanford right now on ESPN in the NIT and I scratch my head why we turned that tournament down.

Yes, some players could use some time off, heal up. Good. Give the backups a chance, even the walk-on's who would love to play on national TV.

Oh well.

We don't really have the backups to give time to, They were already playing, Not sure we were offered NIT,

 

[Eurocat]

I am sure we could have offered up a squad.

But hey, I don't know, not a member of the squad or anything like that.

But I think (and this is just me an asshat fan guessing) we could have offered up a nice squad featuring our underclassmen and a few of the walk-on/hustlers.

Tell the former SIU Coach this is a chance for a do-over or tell Brian James here is your once in a lifetime chance.

I would have given it a shot.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

I am sure we could have offered up a squad.

But hey, I don't know, not a member of the squad or anything like that.

But I think (and this is just me an asshat fan guessing) we could have offered up a nice squad featuring our underclassmen and a few of the walk-on/hustlers.

Tell the former SIU Coach this is a chance for a do-over or tell Brian James here is your once in a lifetime chance.

I would have given it a shot.

I’d rather watch corn-hole on TV than this.

 

[macarthur31]

I am sure we could have offered up a squad.

But hey, I don't know, not a member of the squad or anything like that.

But I think (and this is just me an asshat fan guessing) we could have offered up a nice squad featuring our underclassmen and a few of the walk-on/hustlers.

Tell the former SIU Coach this is a chance for a do-over or tell Brian James here is your once in a lifetime chance.

I would have given it a shot.

Or perhaps after back to back years of NCAA's, for these folks the juice isn't worth the squeeze. I understand the notion of "it's competitive basketball, why not?", but I also respect the opinions of the coaches and players who have had a long season and perhaps, maybe perhaps, know what's better for themselves.

 

[Catreporter]

The NIT really lost any "it" factor it still had when they took the finals out of Madison Square Garden.

 

[Hungry Jack]

I’d rather watch corn-hole on TV than this.

Why would you embarrass your program on national tv by doing that?

 

[FeralFelidae]

I am watching Stanford right now on ESPN in the NIT and I scratch my head why we turned that tournament down.

Yes, some players could use some time off, heal up. Good. Give the backups a chance, even the walk-on's who would love to play on national TV.

Oh well.

The Big Ten has a contract to send its top 2 remaining teams to the Crown before the NIT.

The NIT might not have been an option for us due to the conference's obligations to the Crown. We may have been told it's the Crown or it's nothing.

 

[hdhntr1]

The Big Ten has a contract to send its top 2 remaining teams to the Crown before the NIT.

The NIT might not have been an option for us due to the conference's obligations to the Crown. We may have been told it's the Crown or it's nothing.

And hard to blame them for turning that down