TOP 10 THOUGHTS: It's either apathy, not enough time to fill out the ballot or absolutely no regard for non-conference games... or maybe I've got no idea which is a distinct possibility. However, with all due respect to Acadia, a team that won the AUS last season and added Leonel Saintil, if the coaches poll is to have any degree of integrity, it is impossible for me to believe that right now the Axemen should be ranked #3 in the country. You must feel "pretty, pretty good" (spoken in Larry David - Curb Your Enthusiasm dialect) if you are Manitoba, which now can claim they defeated the #3 team in the country. For those who missed it (and incredibly one coach I spoke to had to be reminded) Acadia lost to a Bison team that has only 1 conference win in 12 games and only 4 wins all season. Also, Acadia was down 20 early and it was never a game in their loss against Calgary, yet the Dinos are ranked below the Axemen. At least 5 coaches who I talked to had the Axemen ranked in the bottom of the Top 10 and others intimated that they felt Acadia was not a Top 10 team; so then how many OTHER coaches voted Acadia #2 to give them enough votes to get to #3. Listen, having been around programs day-to-day for many years, I understand that it can be challenging to get stuff done, especially at this time of year, but if this process is to have any integrity at all, some thought has to go into filling the ballot out. Some coaches do take the time to be mindful of why they are ranking teams as they do and their picks reflect that. But it appears that others don't... and the information is out there if you take the time to find it. Even if the official CIS site only shows league games and is difficult to meander through, Bob Adams site is a tremendous resource for scores, standings and the Cheers RPI provides another set of data points. Here's hoping that more care is taken across all 43 men's basketball programs in Canada to reflect a more accurate vote going forward.
Other Top 10-related thoughts:
David Larkins chimes in with his Canada West Totem Pole #5, his "colour-coded" ranking of all the teams in Canada West Larkins Canada West Totem Poll
Chad Lucas has his thoughts on this week's Top 10 Posting Up blog
Greg Layson from the Guelph Mercury breaks down a specific portion of the current Top 10 coaches poll from a Guelph/Ottawa perspective (thanks for the plug as well) Big Man on Campus CIS Top 10 piece
Neate Sager provides his thoughts on the CIS Top 10 on the CIS Blog
1 comment:
It is time for the coaches association to STEP UP...make the vote transparent....It is ridiculous that this happens.
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