Welcome to the best college basketball event that St. Louis will see outside of the NCAA Regional or Final Four. No, it’s not Missouri or Illinois hoops. Forget about whomever Saint Louis University plays, and the rest … nice try. The Missouri Valley Conference Tournament is where it is.
It was not long ago that The Valley Tournament was just an intimate gathering. That is no longer the case, thanks to the fact that many teams have overlooked the talent and good, young coaches that needed a chance and got a chance to coach players who want to play. Throw in the fact that the conference hierarchy figured out how to compete and be recognized, and you have the Missouri Valley.
The conference has nationally ranked SIU-Carbondale to boast about and a few other teams that are on the cusp of a national ranking. Many of the alleged “good teams” won’t play Valley teams in fear of losing to a team from a conference that is on the move. It will get only harder for the Missouri Valley to climb the mountain. There are several obstacles, scheduling being one. Getting some so-called national media types to get out of Bristol, Conn. or off Tobacco Road to check the Valley out and give it a real stamp of approval is almost impossible. It has partially become a personality contest. Too bad. The teams and the coaches are good, really good.
The problem with The Valley is that it promotes good basketball – it is not a spawning ground for the NBA. At some point, one has to understand that these are two separate items. It’s not a bad idea to watch games for the talent and skill, not on who will be a lottery pick. If you notice, there are not a lot of lottery picks in these parts and yet there is still some good basketball here. When you look at the coaches who have been part of the Missouri Valley -Nolan Richardson, Willis Reed, Bill Self, Bruce Webber and countless others – who have moved on to greater success, they knew what coaching is all about. Throw in the current generation that includes Dana Altman and Chris Lowery, and it’s no wonder that the Missouri Valley is here and here to stay. As for the players, they continue to develop and make this league a conference to be reckoned with. Oh, by the way, The Valley has even had players continue their careers on the professional level.
The tournament starts today and runs through the weekend. Good tickets might be hard to find as word is out about the good time fans will have.
Next week, I will fix the NCCA tournament and tell American readers where the real teams should be playing. I even have a spot for the pretenders.