C-USA stronger than granted, coaches say:
MEMPHIS - The dominating performance by Memphis' men's basketball team last season overshadowed what Conference USA coaches said was a pretty good conference. Southern Miss head coach Larry Eustachy says that wasn't necessarily fair.
"What killed us was you open the paper and (Memphis head coach John Calipari) and his team beat very good (C-USA) teams by 25 or 30,"
Eustachy said during the Conference USA Basketball Media Day on Thursday at the Fed-ExForum. "Well, ask (Texas coach) Rick Barnes how good Memphis was. Ask (Michigan State coach) Tom Izzo. Tom Izzo told me before he sat down he was down 30 points. So it wasn't a matter of dismantling our league, they dismantled the country. To say that this league was down or whatever last year, I think was a misnomer."
The unanimous theme among the C-USA coaches Thursday was that the league is stronger than the rest of the country will admit.
Even Calipari, whose team has won 42 consecutive games against C-USA opponents, joined in the praise.
"This league is at that stage now where we're ready to take off,"
Calipari said. "I'm excited about our league. I'm a little worried about my team."
UAB women's coach Audra Smith doesn't want her team to forget about how they ended the season last year. The Blazers took the third seed into the C-USA Tournament and, after a bye in the first round, lost to No. 6 seed Marshall in the quarterfinals.
"I really felt like we underachieved as far as how we finished,"
Smith said. "I think that's something that stuck in my team's craw all summer."
This year's team won't be as experienced but Smith said "this is probably the biggest team we ever had."
UAB senior Robert Vaden declined to discuss the specifics of his arrest for public intoxication last weekend in Indiana.
"I'm really just here to talk about basketball so I'm not trying to get into all that,"
Vaden said.
UAB head coach Mike Davis also declined comment on the matter.
Ben Braun wasn't around to see Rice finish 0-16 in conference play last season but, as the first-year head coach at the school, it's his job to improve the program.
"0-16, that's a lot of ground to make up,"
Braun said. "I think from watching game film and watching our guys play, I don't think we're that far away. Records don't always define who you are and how good you are. Sometimes, you're a lot better than that."
Eustachy talked about the strength of the players in the conference while trying to make things easier for the rest of the conference by suggesting to Tulsa center Jerome Jordan and guard Ben Uzoh that they skip their final season.
"(Jordan is) projected 13th in the draft and he doesn't play for Memphis,"
Eustachy said. "He ought to go. The guy next to him (Uzoh) is a first rounder too so you both get out of here."
Compiled by News staff writer Steve Irvine
